Where they were meant to belong
by Emperor Zeref Dragneel
Summary: Inoue is kidnapped by an unknown group of assailants and Ichigo has to go and rescue her, again. However, he soon realizes that the girl meant more to him than he realized, and he could not bear to lose her all over again. He would always go and rescue her, even if it meant risking his own life. Will he manage to save her in time or will this time prove different?
1. Chapter 1

**Where they were meant to belong**

**Full Summary**: Inoue is kidnapped by an unknown group of assailants and Ichigo has to go and rescue her, again. However, he soon realizes that the girl meant more to him than he realized, and he could not bear to lose her all over again. He would always go and rescue her, even if it meant risking his own life. Will he manage to save her in time or will this time prove different than the other times?

**Main Pairings**: Ichihime, nuff said.

**Timeline: **The events in this story occur after the Fake Karakura Town Arc, where Inoue has been rescued safely and Ichigo's group resumed its daily life. Ichigo still has his shinigami powers in this fanfic though.

**Disclaimer**: I do not own Bleach or any of its characters, they are the sole property of Tite Kubo (who I have to admit has done a brilliant job in designing his characters, his artwork is amazing!)

**A/N**: Welcome to my third fanfic. This time I decided to write a Bleach one, since one of my best pairings ever is in that anime i.e. IchiHime. I hope you all enjoy it and I promise it will be worth your time. Read and review ;)

_Reminder_

Kurosaki Ichigo lay in his bed staring into the roof. Tilting his head a little, he looked at the clock that lay on his bedside. It read 1 pm. _Those guys must be having lunch right now_, he thought to himself. It was the fourth day of the week and he was aware that school would be closing for the summer holidays soon. It was with this knowledge that he had decided to skip the last three days of school, stating to his group of friends that missing one or two final days of school wouldn't really make much of a difference. He really didn't leave them much room to protest, since he immediately left for home when he broke the news to them. This had occurred a day ago.

Shifting to his side purely out of coincidence, his phone which also lay there untouched immediately sprung up with a ring. A bit startled, Ichigo reached out for the device, although he had a faint idea as to who had decided to interrupt his peaceful afternoon, away from everyone. Flipping the phone, Asano Keigo's voice immediately filled the room, causing some birds that were perched on a nearby tree to scurry away in fright, "ICHIGO WHY DO YOU ALWAYS DO THIS TO ME I THOUGHT WE WERE FRIENDS YOU COULD HAVE AT LEAST DROPPED BY AT SCHOOL SO THAT WE COULD HANG OUT!" The words flowed continuously from Keigo, which made Ichigo wonder how come he had not even run out of breath yet. When he was sure that it was his turn to speak (after a slight pause where the recipient had gone silent), Ichigo replied, "Dude for the last time, I'm not appearing in that place till next semester. I already told you this. Besides I'm sure you guys aren't really doing anything of much importance, are you?" At this point Mizuiro Kojima's voice was the one which replied (he had taken the phone from Keigo, apparently unable to tolerate more of his shouting).

"Forget him Ichigo. You know Asano-san can't go a day without being head-locked by you. "(Keigo shrieked at these words, he still couldn't believe that Mizuiro called him Asano-san, despite the fact that they were friends for almost two years now) Ichigo chuckled at this reply, before saying, "I know man, either way what's up? I don't think you called me to discuss Keigo's weird habits." Mizuiro replied again,"Oh yeah, I wanted to remind you about the Bad Shield ticket I got you a while ago. The concert is on Saturday so I wanted to confirm if you were going so I would pass by your place and drop off the ticket this evening." Ichigo suddenly realized what Mizuiro was talking about.

A month had passed since the defeat of Aizen Sousuke at Ichigo's hands. Inoue Orihime had been successfully rescued and Ichigo had resumed his daily life, alongside Ishida Uryuu and Sado Yasutora. Luckily, none of them had perished during their quest in Hueco Mundo to save Inoue, so Ichigo was more than pleased and he felt like he deserved a break after all that had happened. His other friends in school; Arisawa Tatsuki, Keigo Asano and Mizuiro Kojima had also emerged unscathed, even after the whole incident with Aizen in Soul Society. Ichigo remembered that he had indeed asked Mizuiro to get him the Bad Shield ticket a few weeks before he left for Hueco Mundo, promising that he would indeed return in time for the concert, and now it looked like the time to pay his dues had arrived.

"Yeah, I'll definitely come. (Keigo let out a squeak of delight next to Mizuiro). What time is the concert again?" he inquired. "It's at 8 p.m," Mizuiro replied almost immediately, with a much lighter tone in his voice. He was also obviously happy that Ichigo had decided to accompany both him and Keigo. He then continued, "Oh, and by the way it would be cool if you brought a girl with you. It would help kill the stale atmosphere surrounding three guys. I'd suggest bringing along Inoue-san."

Keigo at this point was jumping up and down in complete bliss, while chanting, "Inoue-san is coming with us! Inoue-san is coming with us!" while skipping around the area where Mizuiro sat. "Ichigo?" Mizuiro asked through the phone. He was not wrong to ask, however, since Ichigo had fallen dead-silent on the receiving end of the call. He stared at his cellphone to make sure that Ichigo had not hung up, he was still there. Meanwhile, on the other side of the phone, Ichigo was stunned by what Mizuiro had just suggested to him. Sure enough, he and Inoue had been friends for as long as he could remember, but he had never before asked a girl to accompany him to an event, much less a rock concert. He simply found it too troublesome. Therefore, he was dead-sure that asking Inoue would be a hassle, but that wasn't the case as in his reply.

"I'll think about it," Ichigo finally managed to speak up. "Good. I'll see you in the evening then," Mizuiro concluded, before finally hanging up. Ichigo placed his phone next to his bedside, before placing his hand over his eyes and becoming deeply endorsed in his thoughts. Honestly, asking Inoue would be harder than he originally thought it would be, all because of revelations he had received in the past. _"Inoue Orihime was in your room last night to heal your injuries," he remembered concluding to the Captain Commander to prove that Inoue was still alive. "Why did you protect him? Let me tell you the answer. It's because you-," Ulquiorra Schiffer informed Inoue during their battle in Las Noches._ These two revelations had helped him come to a really unsettling conclusion, and deciding not to think about it much further, he slept the rest of the afternoon off, awaiting Mizuiro's arrival.

Meanwhile, a few blocks away, Inoue Orihime casually skipped across the street to the store, herself having skipped school too for that day. When asked the reason by her best friend, Arisawa Tatsuki, she lied that she had stomach flu. Tatsuki seemed to think otherwise, considering the piercing glare she gave her. Inoue immediately ran to her house, deciding that it would not be better to carry more of the lie to her friend. This also happened a day ago. However, the real reason she decided to skip school that day is because a certain orange-haired guy was not around that day too. Immediately blushing at the thought, Inoue stopped in her steps and decided to proceed after recollecting herself. Little did she know that, the shadow of a man watched her from behind an electric pole. Inoue Orihime's sense of danger was seriously terrible for her own good.

_End_

**A/N:** Well, there's chapter one guys. I made it considerably longer than the first chapters of my previous two fanfics, so I hope that you will enjoy this fanfic. Again, read and review. IchiHime for life.


	2. Disappearance

**A/N: **Well, that didn't take too long, did it? Here's chapter 2 of my Bleach fanfic. I don't really like keeping the people who want to read this story on hiatus for long, so I decided to update this as soon as possible. Thank you for all the reviews already. I can proudly state that this is my most successful fanfic…so far. Without further ado, here's chapter 2 of "Where they were meant to belong", titled "Disappearance".

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Bleach or any of its characters. If I did, Ichigo would have realized Orihime's feelings for him by now and probably reciprocated them.

_Disappearance_

Inoue continued to skip merrily along the street, her distance to the store closing with each step. She had decided to buy red bean paste, which was her best delicacy after all. Having been constantly pestered by Tatsuki about her eating habits which she termed as "strange", she made no attempt to drop the dish however. Tatsuki's advice seemed to have fallen on deaf ears, it seemed, but Inoue was a bit glad that she was not coming over for dinner that night. A bit sad that she would not see her friend for another evening, she made up her mind to pay her a visit the following day.

However, the following day would not come for the young girl.

Immediately locating the item she desired on one of the nearby shelves, she made her way to the counter. After a warm greeting by the attendant who had grown fond of Inoue's frequent visits, she paid for the red bean paste and exited the store. Turning the corner where her house lay at the end of the street, she walked a bit faster now, since the sun was nearly getting swallowed up in the horizon.

However, after a few steps she came face to face with a strange man. Said man was wearing what looked like tight jeans, which were white in color, and on the upper half of his body he clad a sky-blue shirt. He reminded her a little of her friend, Sado Yasutora. The two looked at each other for a while before the man took out a photo, stared at it before resuming his stare to Inoue. "Just to confirm, you are Inoue Orihime, yes?" Taken aback by the sudden query, Inoue pondered a little. She was too polite for her own good, which was evident when she replied a few minutes later, "Yes, I am? Uuuum, who are you, sir?" The man just smiled a little before saying, "My name is no concern of yours. I need you to come with me." Visibly alarmed, Inoue clutched her belongings tighter to her chest and was about to turn the other way when she heard the crashing of something behind her. She had no time to look what it was, however, because her eyes and mouth were immediately covered and she could feel herself being falling through something. Within seconds, both she and the strange man had disappeared, leaving an empty road which had been destroyed in the middle.

Mizuiro knocked on Ichigo's door for the second time that evening, having received no reply the first time. Ichigo, who was sound asleep in his bed, immediately woke up with a start. He had heard a knock on the front door, and for a second thought that there were burglars who had decided to attack the house. "Burglars don't knock on doors though, they break them down," he reasoned logically. Having remembered one person who had promised to meet him that evening, he muttered, " Mizuiro", and went to open the door for his friend.

"You know you could be more considerate of others, Ichigo. I've been standing out here for the past twenty minutes and already the neighbours thought I was someone suspicious," Mizuiro berated him once he came face to face with him on the other side of the door. Ichigo rubbed his still sleepy eyes a little, before saying, "Sorry man. I guess I slept too much." Shrugging a little, Mizuiro opened his bag and his hand emerged with two tickets. "Anyway," he pressed on more urgently, having no desire to discuss Ichigo's sleeping schedule, and "here are the tickets as promised. This one," he placed one of them into Ichigo's now outstretched hands," is yours. And this one, "he placed the second one over the first one that was lying in Ichigo's hand," is for Inoue-san." He finished his sentence with a smirk.

Ichigo was a bit surprised, and wasted no time in retaliating, "Wait a minute. I haven't even said I'll bring anyone over. Much less Inoue.",Mizuiro looked like he was enjoying the now troubled look on Ichigo's face. "Well, I can't think of any other person you would carry along for such an event. Arisawa herself isn't interested in such stuff, and all the other girls in our class are pretty much out of the question, like Honsho." Ichigo's thoughts immediately switched to the red-haired bespectacled lesbian in his class, and tried to imagine what it would be like going with her to a concert, but immediately shook his head to affirm Mizuiro's statement. "That leaves only Inoue-san. Besides I bet she'll be happy to be invited by you to the concert." Noting Mizuiro's last statement, Ichigo was tempted to ask "why", but he knew in this situation it would be better to be more adamant in his half-made decision. "Then why don't you invite one of your girlfriends along with this extra ticket. I'm also sure they'll be more than willing to accompany you." This time, it was Mizuiro's turn to shake his head. "Kurosaki, you really lack tact. I've already invited someone to go with me, and bringing more than one girl will cause problems so it's a no-no." Ichigo opened his mouth to protest, but noticing that he didn't have anything else to counter with, slumped his shoulders in defeat. He replied, "Okay. I'll invite her." Mizuiro smiled satisfactorily before leaving Ichigo's front door and descending down the front steps that led up to it.

Once he was at the bottom floor, however, he stopped momentarily and looked up at Ichigo, who was just opening the door to return to his house. He called out to him immediately, "If I were you I would take that ticket to her immediately rather than leave it lying around in my room. You know how Yuzu-chan and your dad can be if they find two tickets lying in your room when they know that they only have one son." Ichigo froze a little in his movements, and he imagined the flurry of questions he would get from Yuzu and his dad, his dad wailing in front of his mom's portrait about how his son had "grown up" so fast, Yuzu beaming at him and crying about her "Onii-chan" about to leave the house so soon, and he knew that hell would break loose in the house. Looking at Mizuiro, he gave him a thumbs-up before saying, "Thanks, Mizuiro. I'll take it to her immediately." Mizuiro smiled reassuringly at him, and walked away, while Ichigo entered the house and made his way to his room.

Mizuiro had reached the street where his house lay. Oddly enough, he and Inoue were neighbors at home, though they rarely spoke to each other. They rarely met outside school since Inoue stayed out shopping most of the evenings and he was a complete shut-in when he reached his house. To his surprise however, he noticed a lone man standing in the middle of the road. He was crouched on the ground as if he was studying something intently, and Mizuiro moved a bit closer to identify who the stranger was. He had blue hair and glasses, and his face was contorted in a frown. Mizuiro immediately recognized the man as his classmate and acquaintance, Ishida Uryuu.

"Evening, Ishida-san. What are you doing here? I thought your house was on the opposite street," Mizuiro called out to him. He opted to use honorifics since he knew that even though Ichigo and Ishida seemed like great friends, personally he and Ishida weren't especially close or anything. Ishida, who seemed too consumed in thought, hardly noticed Mizuiro approaching him. When the footsteps had finally settled near him, he stared up at Mizuiro's face, which held a puzzled expression. "What happened here?" he asked no one in particular, and Ishida knew he was referring to the crater that lay in the middle of the road.

"I honestly don't know," Ishida began to answer, "I was heading home when I saw this crater and I decided to come check it out." There was a small lie in Ishida's words. The second part about coming to check out the crater was indeed true, but what brought him here was the unusual reiatsu he had sensed as he was walking home. It did not seem to be a Hollow's reiatsu, so he assumed it was a human with an extraordinarily large amount of reiatsu. He immediately decided to run to the area to check it out, opting not to use Hirenkyaku so as not to waste reiatsu in case a skirmish would break out, but he was too late. The reiatsu signature had disappeared almost as quickly as it had appeared.

"Ishida-san, what's that?" Mizuiro asked him, pointing a little distance away from them. Ishida immediately got up and went to the said direction, and saw that there was a bag which contained a can of red bean paste which was lying at the mouth of the bag. "I don't know. It seems to be someone's shopping. But red bean paste surely? Who would-"At this point Ishida froze in the middle of his sentence. Mizuiro, who had noticed this, asked him, "What's wrong?" Unbeknownst to him, Ishida remembered that there was only one person he knew on that street who would buy read bean paste without any accompanying dishes. His mouth immediately moved to form the words of the said person. "Inoue." Immediately focusing his reiatsu to look for her reiatsu within the area, he searched and searched but to no avail. However, traces of her reiatsu still lay on the bag that was on the ground, so he was led to make one tragic conclusion.

Inoue Orihime had disappeared.

_End_

**A/N: **That escalated pretty well, or at least as I had hoped in my head it would. And it fits so well with the title of this chapter. Inoue was kidnapped, but by who? Find out next time!;) Continue to read and review, and thank you for all the follows and favorites already. IchiHime is tops!


	3. Friendship

**A/N: **Welcome to the third chapter of "Where they were meant to belong." In this chapter the story of Inoue's disappearance reaches Ichigo and his friends. How will each of them take it? Especially Ichigo and Inoue's best friend, Tatsuki Arisawa. Thank you so much for all your reviews, follows and favorites. Enjoy this latest chapter ;)

**Disclaimer: ** I do not own Bleach or any of its characters. They are the sole property of Tite Kubo.

_Friendship_

The impact of Inoue's sudden disappearance was almost instant on Ishida Uryuu. Truth is told, even if he rarely expressed any emotions on his stoic face, he could not hide the worry that had started growing in him. He had come to develop a soft spot for Inoue after all the time they had spent together since knowing each other. He rarely made any friends since he simply found the act itself too troublesome, but she was one of the few people he considered as a friend to him. She, was personality was so bright that she always managed to put a smile on everyone's face. She, who harbored deep feelings for a certain orange-haired substitute shinigami which was so painfully obvious to everyone in their group except him. She was gone, without any trace or last words. Ishida remembered the time when she had been kidnapped by the Arrancar, and the worry continued to gnaw at his heart.

He thought of a scenario where she had been murdered already by the assailant, and the blood in his body momentarily turned into ice. Then logic spoke up in his brain. If the enemy really intended to kill her, there shouldn't have been any need to whisk her away. As embarrassing as it was to admit, Inoue really lacked any basic combat training except the martial arts she learnt from her best friend, Tatsuki, when they were little. Ishida knew that the little martial arts that Inoue had knowledge of weren't really much use in a life threatening situation, unless the opponent was incredibly stupid, or was too distracted by the size of her chest. Ishida blushed a little at the second possibility, but shook the thoughts out of his head. Getting up from the ground, he safely concluded that Inoue had been kidnapped by an unknown enemy, for whatever reason they had.

He heard the sound of a phone's buttons being pressed behind him. He looked behind to see Mizuiro pressing some buttons on his phone, and wondered who it was he was calling in such a situation. However, he remembered that there was a certain person who would probably be distressed when he heard about what had happened to Inoue. He was actually grateful that he was not the one calling Ichigo, so he waited patiently to see how he would respond. (Part of the reason he had not decided to call Ichigo immediately was his pride as a Quincy, which refused him to call any shinigami in case of an emergency)

_Ichigo's house_

Ichigo had just come from the shower and was now deciding which clothes to wear. He decided that if he was to go to Inoue's place, he was to go when he was clean since he did not want to sully the young girl's house. He had been there only once before, and it wasn't exactly on a normal visit. Inoue had been attacked by the hollow of her brother's soul, so Ichigo had to end up going there to save her. Now that he remembered it, he noted that Inoue's house didn't really have much to speak of. It was a simple design with just the right amount of furniture designated for a comfortable life.

Deciding on a loose shirt that had the number 15 written on its back (Ichigo could not understand why his father insisted on buying him shirts that almost all had this design), and a pair of loose baggy jeans, Ichigo looked at himself in the mirror to ensure that he looked at least presentable. He then went to the ticket that lay on his bedside next to his phone, and after stuffing it in his back pocket, he started wondering whether he was supposed to carry anything as a gift token to Inoue. The number of times she had come to his house she always carried tokens for him, Yuzu, Karin, and even their old man, which Ichigo really appreciated. He went downstairs to the kitchen to see if there was anything he could offer her, and was immediately pleased to see a basket of fruits that was lying on the kitchen table. Yuzu had brought those fruits a few days ago to use them in making a pudding for herself and her sister, so Ichigo made a mental note to buy some fruits on his way back from Inoue's place.

He was on his way back to his room to get his phone when he heard it ringing loudly. A bit startled since he wondered who would be calling him at that time, since all his friends had talked to him that day (well, almost all), he picked up the phone and saw that it was Mizuiro who was calling. Ichigo wondered why he would call him again despite being there only an hour ago. He most certainly hadn't left anything in the house, since he didn't even enter the building. Ichigo then assumed that Mizuiro had called him to remind him not to forget to take Inoue's ticket to her place. A bit annoyed, Ichigo raised the phone to his ear and prepared to give his friend an earful.

"You know, I'm not really as forgetful as you take me to be. I was just on my way out of the house and too Inoue's place so you really shouldn't have bothered calling to remind me again, Mizuiro," Ichigo started, making sure to place special emphasis on every word so that Mizuiro would get the message. He was however, not prepared for what came next. The news hit him like a bombshell. "It's not that Ichigo. I'm here with Ishida-san on the street where Inoue-san's house is, and she seems to have disappeared. There's no trace of her anywhere." Ichigo's hands suddenly went numb and he could have dropped the phone to the ground in shock, but he wanted to make sure that this wasn't a really bad joke by his longtime friends. "What did you say?" He slowly mouthed the question to Mizuiro. "I said, Inoue-san has disappeared on the street in front of her house, and there's no trace of her anywhere. I'm with Ishida-san here at the moment."

Ichigo's mind was in a trance at the sudden revelation. _Inoue had disappeared?_ No, there's no way that could be true. They had just gotten her back from the clutches of the Arrancar and Aizen a few weeks ago, so she couldn't have gone away so soon. Ichigo then thought that Inoue must have been hiding somewhere, but remembered that Mizuiro had said that Ishida was there, and he was well aware of Ishida's excellent reiatsu-tracking skills. Ishida was a better controller of reaitsu than Inoue, so he could have easily sniffed her out anywhere in the city. The truth came down crashing on Ichigo like a hurricane, and he realized that Mizuiro was probably speaking the truth.

He talked to his friend again. "Got it. I'll be there in a few minutes. Wait for me a little." He prepared to put his phone in his pocket and make a quick dash for the street, when Mizuiro's voice came in from the other side. "Ichigo, it would be better for you to come in your shinigami form. This may not have been a normal attack, and we don't know what we are dealing with here. Come in a way that you'll be able to defend yourself in case anything happens." Ichigo then placed the phone in his pocket without any further reply, and opened his wardrobe again to get his badge. A few months ago, he would have asked Mizuiro what he meant by "shinigami form", but seeing that him, Tatsuki, Chizuru and Keigo had seen his shinigami form when he fought Aizen in his final form, he did not see the need to conceal the truth from his friends. They had been aware of his powers for a while now, and to Ichigo's relief, they didn't look at him any differently, they learnt to accept that side of him too. Smiling to himself as he pressed the badge to his chest, he let the familiar feeling of being pushed out of his body envelop him and he looked at himself now clad in black robes, and a huge sword strapped to his back.

Remembering Mizuiro's words earlier that they were dealing with an unknown enemy, he decided to place his body in his wardrobe. He could always call out Kon, but knowing the mod soul's extreme personality and his interest in human girls, realized that it wouldn't be a good idea to leave his body in the hands of such an outgoing person. He closed his wardrobe behind him and immediately left the house to go to where Ishida and Mizuiro were.

_Arisawa Tatsuki _

Tatsuki had currently been walking for a while deciding to head to her best friend's place. Having not seen Inoue for a while, she realized that she sorely missed her so she decided to go to her place to hang out. With the summer holidays around the corner, Tatsuki knew that she and her parents would probably go to travel and she wouldn't see Inoue until she got back, which would be in around three months. Saddened by the thought, she decided it would be better to spend more time around her in the short time she had left, rather than regret it later.

She made a turn at the corner where she knew Inoue's house was, and was a bit surprised to find Mizuiro and Ishida standing there in the middle of the road. Puzzled, she halted momentarily then began walking towards them to see what they were doing there. She originally thought that the two had come to see Inoue, but remembered that Ishida wasn't really the type to visit other people at their houses, and that Mizuiro already had a horde of girls at his beck and call, so he wouldn't really be bothered by a weird girl such as Inoue. Tatsuki hadn't failed to realize by now that Inoue Orihime wasn't your everyday girl, so she saw no fault in calling her weird. As she steadily approached the two guys, she noticed the crack in the ground and immediately a thought sprung into her mind.

"What happened here? Was it a hollow attack?" she asked the two guys in front of her. The two of them looked at her at the same time, surprised at her sudden appearance, rather than the fact that she had said "Hollow." Ishida realized that she had probably remembered what Ichigo had told her and her group of friends, and was glad that he didn't have to waste time covering up things with her.

"Good evening, Arisawa-san." Mizuiro started. "It wasn't a hollow that attacked this area. Something rather tragic has happened." He held up the bag that contained Inoue's shopping, and watched Tatsuki's face whiten before he continued, "Inoue-san has been kidnapped, by an assailant we do not know, so me and Ishida-san here are waiting for Ichigo to come here so that he can see this for himself.

Tatsuki lost her balance and felt herself crumble to the ground. The two men in front of her immediately stretched out their hands to save her, but Ishida was faster, using his Hirenkyaku to reach her in a second and hold her before she hit the concrete. "Careful," he said to her. "You could get seriously injured like that." Tatsuki looked up into the eyes of Ishida and noticed that he bore a grim expression. She realized that he also knew about the news, and it sunk into her like a dagger. Her best friend had disappeared again, and here she was powerless again to do nothing but break down. Cursing her own weakness, she started hitting Ishida's chest while tears streamed down her face. "Why? Why? Why did this happen?"

"Tatsuki? What are you doing here?" The three turned simultaneously to see the person who had talked. Ichigo had arrived at the scene. He saw Tatsuki's tear-stained face and knew that Ishida and Mizuiro had broken the news to her. Tatsuki released herself from hitting Ishida, then turned to Ichigo and said, "I was coming here to see Orihime. Then these two told me that she had been kidnapped. Is this true?" Ichigo looked at her sadly, and then nodded his head. Tatsuki then asked Ichigo, "You don't know who did this then? Or are you hiding things from me again?" Ichigo remembered that she was referring to the time when he had refused to tell her that Inoue had been captured by the Arrancar, telling her blatantly "It's none of your business." He replied, "I already told you everything about me and Hollows and Shinigami. I don't have anything else to hide from you, Tatsuki, and I'm also worried about Inoue here."

Tatsuki looked at Ichigo briefly as if ascertaining the truth behind his words, then realizing that he didn't have any reasons to lie to her anymore, felt satisfied. Ichigo walked to the scene where the crack on the road, and touched the ground then closed his eyes. His sensory skills weren't exactly on par with Ishida's, but he still had the ability, so he tried picking up any traces of reiatsu. True enough, there were faint traces of reaitsu left by whoever had done the kidnapping, and Ichigo realized that the reiatsu seemed almost familiar. As if he had felt this reiatsu before and not too long ago. He turned to Ishida and asked him, "Ishida, have you felt this reiatsu before somewhere?" Ishida's eyes widened in surprise, and then he closed his eyes momentarily to feel the reiatsu that Ichigo was talking about. He too, felt that they had felt the same reiatsu before.

Opening his eyes, he looked at Ichigo and said, "You're right. It is familiar. This is the reiatsu we felt as we were going through the Garganta from here to Hueco Mundo. It's not reaitsu from Hueco Mundo or the World of the Living. If I'd pick a choice, I'd say it almost feels like the reiatsu that we felt when we were in the Garganta." Ishida looked at Ichigo who looked a bit surprised, then said, "Kurosaki, you don't think?" Ichigo got up from his position on the ground, and then said to Ishida, "I think it would be better to go and ask Urahara-san about this. I think he may have an answer or explanation about this oddly familiar reiatsu."

Ishida and Ichigo then started walking in the direction of Urahara's candy store, when Tatsuki spoke up," Where are you guys going without telling us?" The two of them looked at Tatsuki, and then Ichigo replied, "Tatsuki, we might be dealing with something extremely dangerous here. It would be best if you guys just stayed out of it. Sorry about this." Ichigo expected Tatsuki to go away at this, but she still stood there, with the same fierce look in her eyes. "I don't think so Ichigo. My best friend is in danger, and this is the third time this has happened. I'm not sitting this one out. I'm coming with you guys to this Urahara-san's place." Ishida and Ichigo were both shocked, with Ichigo looking at Tatsuki as if she was a new species of hollow that had landed on earth.

"Wait! What are you talking about Tatsuki?! Don't you realize how dangerous this could be?! Even if you can see hollows and spirit forms clearly now it doesn't mean you can just barge into a fight with an unknown being! We don't even know what we are dealing with here in the first place!" Ichigo tried reasoning with the tomboy. Sure he was happy that she was trying to rescue her best friend, but this was not the time or place to show off her bravado. Tatsuki remained rooted to the ground there, refusing to go away, while Mizuiro looked at the scenario unfolding in front of him with a bemused expression on his face. He certainly had not expected this sudden turn of events.

Tatsuki shook her head and then said, "I'm coming with you whether you like it or not, Kurosaki Ichigo. (Ichigo cringed a little at being called by his two names by his childhood friend). Inoue is my best friend, and I'm going to rescue her, even if I have to stalk you two." Ichigo was at a loss for words. He realized that nothing he would say to Tatsuki would fall on her, so he desperately looked at Ishida for support. Ishida looked at him in a way that showed there was no hope of winning the argument here. "I think it's best if she comes with us Kurosaki. We'll just waste more and more valuable time, and who knows what's happening to Inoue-san as we speak.

Ichigo slumped his shoulders in defeat, seeing the logic in Ishida's words. They couldn't afford to waste any more time than they already had standing there, so he looked at Tatsuki, who sported a positive look in her eyes. "Okay then, you can tag along. ( Tatsuki's heart leaped in joy at these words). Mizuiro, you wanna come too?" he asked Mizuiro. To his delight, Mizuiro shook his head, saying, "Sorry, Ichigo. I'm not really cut out for such stuff. I'll go to Asano's place to tell him about this instead. My phone's dead and I think he won't be happy if he sees he's been left out again." Ichigo nodded and he, Ishida and Tatsuki began their journey to Urahara's place, while Mizuiro went in the opposite direction, towards Keigo's house.

_End_

**A/N: **Woot woot! Chapter 3 is finally done, and I'm honestly feeling satisfied with this chapter. It went exactly as I had planned, which means that next chapter will probably reveal more about our antagonists, and what Ichigo and co. have to do to save Inoue. As usual, read and don't forget to review. Thanks and peace out!


	4. Journey

**A/N: **Before I begin this chapter I would like to apologize for the late update. I was supposed to have updated this fanfic last week but then stuff came up so I was forced to adjust my schedule a little. Not to worry though, I promise this chapter will definitely be worth your time and that you definitely won't regret it. So, here goes!

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Bleach or any of its characters=.They are the sole property of Tite Kubo.

_Journey_

The trio of Ichigo, Ishida and Tatsuki walked on the path leading to Urahara's place in an eerie silence. Tatsuki grew more and more aware of the silence and started feeling a bit uneasy in it. She and Ichigo had been childhood friends, so it wasn't exactly a natural thing for the two of them to hardly say anything to each other. She and Ishida was another thing altogether though. The two of them hardly ever said anything to each other, but Tatsuki was well aware of Inoue's friendship around the blue-haired guy. He was normally as stiff as a rod when it came to things like talking to other people, but Inoue's cheerfulness even set Ishida off his usual rhythm, because he often caught himself worrying about the girl's safety whenever she was almost jumping into a dangerous situation. Of course, Inoue had told her all about the time that she was in Hueco Mundo, and how Ishida had helped her to reach Ichigo at the roof of the dome when he was engaged in his battle with the 4th Espada, Ulquiorra Schiffer. How he had charged in to protect her when she was rushing to save Ichigo's falling body from the pinnacle of one of the towers, where Ulquiorra had shot a Cero Oscuras through her love's chest, effectively finishing him off.

At first glance, Tatsuki thought that Ishida had some sort of feelings for Inoue, which seemed to border more on romantic rather than friendly. She had even asked Inoue herself once what Ishida felt for her, to which Inoue just let out a hearty laugh. She then proceeded to explain that she and Ishida were just platonic friends, with nothing more than friendship being their relationship. However, Inoue soon started turning red on her cheeks, and Tatsuki thought that maybe she had lied just then, but then she said, "Tatsuki-chan, you know that I've only had eyes for Kurosaki-kun for a long time now, so I didn't expect you to come out and ask me something so random like that. Besides, Ishida-kun doesn't really have much interest in girls, I just tend to think that he has more of a soft spot for me since we've known each other since he and Kurosaki-kun became friends. That's all." Tatsuki was slightly surprised by this revelation from her friend, because she didn't like talking about her feelings regarding Ichigo to anyone. It wasn't because she thought that it was none of their business, as most people would put it, but more of the fact that she was too shy regarding matters of love. Tatsuki was a bit amused at this, but she knew how much of a good-natured person Inoue was, so she couldn't put something like this past her. However, she was a bit happy for her best friend, since she knew that Ichigo was a good guy, even though he got into a lot of fights with delinquents from other schools, and she knew that it wasn't exactly his fault most of the times.

Looking at the apple of Inoue's eye, she spoke up, "Ichigo, why don't we just use that high speed movement thingy that you guys use when moving? I think that we will reach our destination faster, since that Aizen guy from a while ago used it and found us within mere seconds." Ichigo looked at her for a moment, and Ishida had an amused look on his face. He didn't expect Tatsuki to remember something as trivial as that, since he knew that it was one of the things that Ichigo didn't tell her when he was explaining about shinigami, pluses and hollows. Still, he had to hand it to her for remembering such a trivial thing. He knew that she and Inoue studied together, so she may have picked up some of her remembering skills.

"Well, it's not that I can't, but it won't be as fast when I'm carrying someone. Plus there's the risk that you may get really dizzy or fall of due to the speed at which I'm moving at, so it's not really a safe method for transporting normal humans," Ichigo calmly explained to her. In his mind, he remembered the time that he had gone to rescue Inoue in Hueco Mundo, and a certain green-haired Arrancar had tagged along with him. He had used shunpo when carrying her under his arm, but she had gotten dizzy after a few flash steps, so he decided to carry her on his head (at her request), while running. She seemed to enjoy this, so he was sure that it was probably safer going on this way. He looked at Ishida, looking if there was an alternative solution, but Ishida just shook his head sideways, confirming what had just popped up in his mind. He wondered whether there was a chance that Ishida would be able to carry Tatsuki using his Hirenkyaku, but the man's gesture proved otherwise. He then surmised that since Shunpo and Hirenkyaku weren't really that different except in the user, the same risk probably lay with the speed technique. Running was also out of the question, since, unlike him and Ishida; Tatsuki probably didn't have a lot of stamina to cover the entire distance. True she did engage in martial arts and was declared the Strongest Woman in Japan, but the current predicament wasn't a matter as simple as pinning a few people to the ground. They needed each ounce of their strength, which certainly wasn't going to be conserved through running and using all of their stamina.

It was then that Ichigo wondered, and so he asked Tatsuki, "By the way Tatsuki, how are you going to fight anyway? You're pretty strong when it comes to human standards, but according to supernatural standards you may not really stand a chance of survival. And it would really suck if you snuffed it if we were there, since Inoue would be devastated beyond belief." Ichigo expressed his concerns, and suddenly he felt his heart fill his worry and fear. He realized that he was putting Inoue's best friend in the face of danger, and there was no telling if she would escape unscathed. In a worst case scenario, she would probably get killed by their enemies, who were unknown, and her death would weigh on his shoulders forever. He would probably lose the chance to talk to Inoue forever, blaming himself for Tatsuki's death, and knew that he would probably lose her forever by the end of this ordeal. Resolve grasping him once again, he was about to turn to Tatsuki and tell her that he was going to take her home by force, since he didn't want to lose Orihime on account of her selfish request.

To his surprise, however, she had held up a finger to him, shaking it when he turned his head to face her. Ichigo realized that she had probably realized what she was thinking, but that did little to change his mind. About to voice his concerns again to her, he stopped momentarily when he saw the smirk on her face. He recognized that smirk from anywhere. Whenever Arisawa was about to face a boy bigger than her, or a group of bullies where she was outmatched, she always smirked like that. Ichigo had seen that smirk a lot of times in the past when she had come to save him from when he was being bullied by the delinquents in his neighborhood. She had the confidence to face the danger that lay before her, and this always proved in the victories she had under her belt. Therefore, he waited to hear what she had to prepare herself this time. Nothing could probably prepare him for what she said next though.

"Heeh, so you're more worried about Hime's wellbeing than mine then? You probably realized how devastated she would be if I kicked the bucket where we were headed right?" Tatsuki teased him. Ichigo got a bit flustered at this, and a faint tinge of red stained his cheek for a few minutes. It did not go unnoticed by Tatsuki and also Ishida, and immediately the same thought went through the minds of the two. However, it was quickly vanquished as Ichigo began stuttering, "No, that-s not what I mean-t. I was worried about you too, you know that, right?" Slightly taking offense that Tatsuki thought that Ichigo was not the least bit worried about her, he was about to open his mouth again to call her off in a louder, angrier voice, when her voice cut him off again, "Don't get so worked up Ichigo, I was just teasing you a little. I know that you're worried about me too, and I'm touched by your concern." Ichigo's anger dissipated, and he suddenly felt a surge of affection for his childhood friend. "Don't worry about me though. Do you really think I would go to such a place unprepared? Don't think so lightly of me Ichigo. What do you think me; Keigo, Honsho, Chizuru, Kon and Kanonji-san have been doing when you guys had gone to rescue Inoue in Hueco Mundo? We had formed a team lead by Kisuke-san to fight off the hollows that were invading this place. We were fighting the hollows using specially made suits that had abilities which were extremely helpful in combat. I was Karakura-Riser Beast." Tatsuki looks at Ichigo to see if he was following with all she had said, and saw that Ichigo had an amused expression on his face.

Getting a little angry since she thought that he was going to laugh at her story, which he surely thought was a tall tale, she clenched her fist and was about to sock him, when he said, "Wow, Tatsuki, that's….I have no words. I didn't think you guys would dedicate yourself to protecting this town that much. I'm honestly amazed. Okay, now I have a general idea of how you're planning to fight, but one problem though." Tatsuki was surprised by the words coming out of Ichigo's mouth. A few months ago, he would have probably called her out for doing something so dangerous, but this time, he expressed words of pride in her. Words that she thought she would never hear from him, knowing how much he treasured the wellbeing of his friends. This meant that he had come to acknowledge her strength, and this realization made her beam at him in joy. "Where's the suit at the moment?" It was Ishida who spoke up, speaking for the first time since the three had started their journey.

She had expected this question to pop up when she had started explaining about the Raizers to the duo, so she confidently replied, "It's at Kisuke's place. He said that it was probably better if the suits stayed there, since there were still some modifications he could do to them, and there was the chance that we could be tempted to use them in other ways other than fighting hollows. So I'll get the suit when we arrive there." She finished with a tone of pride in her voice. Ichigo could not help but chuckle a little. She had grown so strong, and Ichigo had a nagging feeling that part of it had to do with the desire to protect her best friend. She was the same as him, and Ichigo's desire to bring Inoue back strengthened even farther. However, what truly amused him was hearing that Keigo had been part of this small group of heroes to protect Karakura town. Wanting to hear more, he asked Tatsuki, "What hero was Keigo, Tatsuki?" Tatsuki could not suppress a small laugh, so she replied, "He was Karakura Raizer Delicate." Ichigo and Ishida both sweat dropped, and Ichigo asked, "Delicate? Why delicate?" "Well, to call a spade a spade, he was a coward. He wasn't even able to fight, so his skill was running away. He could run so fast that even the hollows wouldn't have a chance of catching up with him." At this point, Ichigo broke out in laughter. He couldn't hold it in anymore, and Ishida himself had a smile on his face, to show his complete bewilderment at what they had just been told, and Tatsuki found herself joining in the laughter. It was a good chance to lighten up the mood before them, and certainly it helped, since they found themselves feeling more rejuvenated than they were a few minutes before.

"So do you think that Keigo will be interested in coming on this rescue mission?" Ichigo asked Tatsuki. "Naah, I don't think so. I reckon he'll probably just stay here and say that he'll hold down the fort or something cheesy like that, you know how the guy is. Ichigo nodded at her and knew it, but still, he was glad that the guy was one of his best friends.

Somewhere, several blocks away from where the trio was, a brown haired guy sneezed in the vicinity of his apartment. He rubbed his nose a little, and then wondered where the sneeze had popped out from. Remembering how he had heard about how people normally sneeze when other people were talking about them, he immediately thought that it was the girls from his class who were talking about how he was such a great guy. This thought made an evil smirk break out on his face, and he immediately let out a loud laugh, which reverberated on the walls of his house and escaped to the outside through his open windows. This made the blue haired guy who was currently approaching his house and was texting a girl on his phone sweat drop a little, wondering what on earth had happened to his companion.

The story about the Karakura Rizers had certainly made the journey shorter, since Ichigo heard Ishida say to him, "Kurosaki, we're here." Immediately, he shifted his gaze away from Tatsuki, with whom he was currently engaged in conversation about the exploits of her and her friends while Ichigo, Ishida and Sado were away. He recognized the familiar sign of the candy shop, and the wooden structure that lay beneath it made him realize that they had reached their destination. Tatsuki made to move forward and enter the shop, but her arm was suddenly grabbed from behind. Puzzled, she looked at Ichigo, and asked him," Why are you stopping me? Shouldn't we be heading in there and getting help from Urahara-san?" Ichigo looked at her then said, "Of course, Tatsuki. But first there's something I want to do." He turned to Ishida, who was standing next to him, and told him, "Ishida, I don't have my cell phone on me. Call Sado and tell him to come to Urahara's place. Don't bother explaining what happened to him, it will take too much time. We'll explain it to him when he gets here." "Don't give me orders Kurosaki; I was just about to call him. We need his help too, I'm fully aware of that." He drew his phone from his pocket, and Ichigo smirked at him, saying under his breath," Bastard." Tatsuki realized what Ichigo meant to do, and smiled a little, realizing that he was putting every ounce of his effort into rescuing Inoue. "Thanks, Ichigo," She told him. "Don't mention it," he replied, and after the phone call, the trio entered the shop of the former 12th Squad Captain, Urahara Kisuke.

Said man was currently in the living room of his abode with Tsukabishi Tessai, and they were currently engaged in a heated game of poker. Jinta was on Urahara's side, having had a bad record of being on the receiving end of Tessai's wrath many times in the store due to mishandling of equipment. Ururu was on Tessai's side, and by the sad look on her face, Urahara was winning by a long streak. Jinta had his hands clasped in a pose of excitement, and suddenly the stack of cards that was on the table was blown away when a bag containing red-bean paste was dropped on the table. There was a gasp of anger, and a soft sound of, "My, my," coming from both Jinta and Ururu respectively. Urahara simply smiled under his hat, and Tessai retained the same impassive expression on his face. The gazes of the four who were on the table shifted to their new visitor, and they were mildly surprised to see it was Tatsuki, who had her hand held out over the table. She was not smiling.

Ichigo appeared moments later with Ishida beside him, and said, "Urahara-san, we need to talk."

"Really now, Kurosaki-san, is that any way to start a conversation?" the pale-haired man spoke up. He shifted his position in the cushion he was currently seated on to face the group of three, while beside him the two kids in the store picked up the stack of cards that had been strewn all over the floor.

"Inoue has been kidnapped, and we need your help in knowing where she was taken. There are residual traces of an odd reiatsu on her shopping bag, so we were hoping that it would provide a clue as to who the assailants are," Tatsuki blurted out as soon as Urahara had faced them. He wasn't really surprised at this, since he had a feeling that she would have this reaction when she found out that her best friend had been kidnapped. "I did feel a strange reiatsu this afternoon, but it disappeared as quickly as it had appeared, so I didn't have a chance to send out Yoruichi-san to investigate. However, from the slight trace of reaitsu I could sense, I could confirm one thing. The entity that snatched away Inoue-san was from The Siphoned World, " Urahara told the group.

_End_

**A/N: **Well, there's chapter 4 written and completed. I hope it isn't too boring since I wanted to focus more on the interactions between Ichigo, Tatsuki and Ishida as they went to Urahara's place, since it would even be more unrealistic for them to say nothing to each other. Being friends and all, after all ;) And I did reveal where Inoue was taken by our antagonists, so I hope I managed to root your interest in the next chapter, which will be hopefully out soon. Either way, make sure to read and review. Thanks for all the support guys;) IchiHime is love, IchiHime is Life.


	5. Inoue's Whereabouts

**A/N: ** Hello guys and sorry for the long wait before I updated this story. It seems a bit longer than normal but a lot of stuff has happened to me so I hope you guys will forgive me for the late update. Either way here is Chapter 5 of my story, titled "Inoue's Whereabouts." Read and don't forget to enjoy and leave a review.

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Bleach. It belongs to Tite Kubo plus all its wonderful characters.

_Inoue's Whereabouts_

Inoue Orihime woke up with a sudden jolt. All of a sudden, all the events that happened to her before her kidnap seemed like all part of a bad dream, and she held her head in her hands a little to make sure she was dreaming. She was sure that once she opened her eyes properly, she would find herself in the comfort of her warm blankets and she would prepare herself for another normal day in the World of The Living. The truth is, she had been so used to nightmares regarding her and her brother ever since she lost him all those years ago at the Kurosaki Clinic. Each and every night after that, she had dreamt about her brother being whisked away from her by the clutches of death. She would find herself waking up with tears in her eyes and then be faced with the harsh reality that her brother had been taken away from her when she was young. She would cry herself to sleep and thought that she would continue having the same dream until she became a fully grown woman. However, all that changed one day when she met a certain boy in her high school, Kurosaki Ichigo.

The first time she met Ichigo, she was surprised at the impression that he gave out. True enough, his orange hair was already something that you didn't see every day, so it was an interesting fact about him. However, she had seen plenty of boys that had dyed their hair a different color, so it wasn't really something anew that she noticed. It was the way he carried himself that really got to her. Most boys who usually dyed their hair had the notion that they should act "cool" in order to attract girls or even impress their male friends, but Ichigo just didn't seem…. to care about that at all. In fact, he always seemed to project his true self through his actions, an action which Inoue had come to admire so greatly about him. He was stubborn, strong-willed, short-tempered and impulsive. He also seemed not to care what other people thought about him, since people always seemed to talk about his odd hair color while they were at school. In addition to that, Ichigo was a capable student, ranked 23rd in his year at school, meaning he always studied regularly and never neglected his schoolwork. Even if Inoue was smarter than him, herself ranking 3rd, she never looked down on him or belittled him. In fact, she wished to help him with his studies but she had the feeling that he would refuse the assistance, owing to his tendency to take everything upon himself, studies included. She also noticed that he was genuinely compassionate and empathetic towards others, since she heard from Tatsuki-chan about how Ichigo helped Sado Yasutora when he used to be attacked by delinquents from other schools. Yes, Kurosaki Ichigo was indeed an oddball, but she wasn't really one to talk since Tatsuki told her once that she had never met anyone quite like her. Perhaps this was part of the reason why she liked him so much at first.

Then, she managed to get the strength to befriend him. At first, she was scared to approach him owing to the permanent scowl that adorned his face, but as time passed she came to see it as something funny. Tatsuki had warned her about befriending Ichigo at first, since she was worried that Inoue would get dragged into Ichigo's world, which involved showdowns with bullies daily and having lunch on the rooftop with his group of friends. However, this did not deter her, since she was aware that Ichigo and Tatsuki were childhood friends, and she was a bit curious about what kind of a boy he was. The first time she met him, all those years ago at the Kurosaki Clinic; she didn't really pay him much attention since she was worried to death for her brother's life. He passed away at the hands of Kurosaki Isshin, Ichigo's dad, and she was devastated so much that she couldn't move her body to go home that evening. Isshin allowed her to stay there for the night and she shared a room with Ichigo's sisters, Karin and Yuzu.

After she managed to befriend Ichigo, she noticed that her nightmares concerning her brother's death began to diminish, and in the midst of those nightmares, she always felt someone's voice calling out to her and telling her that everything would be okay. She never knew who the voice would belong to, but when she woke up the next morning, she found herself being tapped on the shoulder by Ichigo telling her to wake up and get breakfast. He always seemed to get up earlier than everyone in the house, so he always took the liberty to wake up his sisters, as Yuzu was always the one who prepared breakfast for the rest of the family. Ichigo himself had once tried preparing breakfast for the family, but it resulted into a disastrous meal, which prompted Yuzu to tell him to stay away from the kitchen and never handle the food there again. From that point, Ichigo made sure to always wake Yuzu up, but that morning when he entered their room, he saw that the guest they had there was shaking a little in her sleep. He realized that she must have been traumatized over what had just happened to her brother, having witnessed several patients breaking down over the loss of a loved one within the walls of the Kurosaki Clinic. His compassion for the young girl getting the better of him, he decided to shake her awake while telling her that everything would be okay, and since that day Inoue's bad dreams began diminishing. She was grateful to the orange-haired boy, and even when her brother resumed the World of The Living to attack her as a hollow, he appeared again to save her. Her nightmares also changed that time, each time she witnessed her brother attack her as that snake-like hollow, but he always appeared between her and her brother and struck a death blow to him, saving her and also sending her brother to Soul Society where he was finally able to get peace. She was forever grateful to Ichigo since that day, her affection for him growing day by day.

Back to the present, Inoue slowly uncovered her face to find herself in an odd place. The area was dark, and there seemed to be odd white lights in the atmosphere. Inoue looked around a little before realizing that the whole area was new to her, and then all of a sudden it dawned on her that it wasn't a nightmare she had just experienced. She had really been whisked away by an unknown enemy, and the last thing she was doing before then was exiting the stall after buying red-bean paste. Then a strange man appeared before her, and before confirming that she was who she was, he whisked her away in the blink of an eye. Everything after that seemed to be blurry, meaning that she had been knocked out en route to their destination, possibly to prevent her from squirming around too much or even attempting to repel the enemy using her Shun Shun Rikka. A closer look at her surroundings made her remember the time she had spent in Hueco Mundo after her kidnap by Ulquiorra Schiffer. However, this place seemed a bit more eerie than Hueco Mundo, for some reason she couldn't place her finger on. It looked like she had been thrust into space, owing to the stars she saw in the sky, but she had the feeling that she had been here before. The reaitsu of the place was familiar to her, and she made to wake up from the seat she was currently in. It was a huge chair, and she remembered seeing Aizen Sousuke seated in something familiar when she was in his presence in Hueco Mundo. It seemed to her that her kidnapper(s) had intended for her to be as comfortable as possible, a trait that they shared with the Espada of Hueco Mundo. There seemed to be restraints on her seat, but they came off as soon as she made to get up. It also seemed to her that the enemy was going to allow her freedom to move as she wanted within this new area, possibly with the knowledge that she wouldn't be able to escape even if she wanted to. She looked around her for any signs of a door which would provide an exit, but the darkness littered with stars seemed to go as far as her eyes would see. Then she came upon something that lay in front of her.

It was a sort of glass structure, and when she moved closer to investigate it, she saw that it was a coffin. A glass coffin, much like the one which was used in church services when people were paying their final respects to the dead and were allowed to view the body one last time before it was put into the grave to rest for all eternity. There was a similar one at her brother's funeral, so she recognized it right away. Much to her surprise, there was a body inside the glass coffin, something she did not expect to find in such a place. She was now staring at the body inside the coffin, and had a clearer look of the person lying inside.

It was a man. He was quite young, owing to his facial features, and he looked as if he had just died recently, since there were no foul odors emanating from his body, or even any smell of chemicals, which indicated that his body was being preserved through embalming. He had white hair, and he looked to be the same height as Inoue or a few inches shorter. He had white robes on, and Inoue knew that this was probably due to the fact that whoever was responsible for his body was probably preparing for his imminent burial. His hands were clasped on his abdomen together as if he was praying, and Inoue noticed that he looked so peaceful, owing to the smile that lay on his unmoving body. Due to curiosity more than anything else, she made to move her hand to touch the surface of the glass coffin, when she heard a voice speak up to her, a voice which most definitely did not come from the body that was lying inside the glass coffin.

"I see you've awakened, Inoue Orihime. And you've had the pleasure of meeting our dead leader then, have you?"

_Urahara Shop_

"Siphoned World? What's that?" asked a perplexed Kurosaki Ichigo. In all his years of being a Substitute Shinigami, he had heard about the three realms of existence: The Real World or The World of The Living, where humans resided, Hueco Mundo, which was inhabited by Hollows, and Soul Society, where all the souls resided plus the Shinigami of the Gotei 13. But not once, had he heard of the term, "Siphoned World." He looked at Ishida, who was seated next to him, and after seeing the same perplexed look on the blue-haired man's face, he realized that Ishida too, did not know what Urahara-san had just said. It was a first he had heard about it too. Tatsuki looked too confused that Ichigo realized the poor girl was still trying to wrap her head around all this supernatural stuff. She had heard everything from Ichigo, of course, but still such things were better explained through seeing rather than orally.

"Ah, yes, you guys haven't been told about it yet, have you?" Urahara-san continued. He really couldn't blame them, as it was something that had been discovered recently by Kurotsuchi Mayuri and his 12th division, and the news had just been made fresh to all the captains. He continued, "Recently, after the defeat of Aizen Sousuke at your hands, Kurosaki-san, there seemed to be a disturbance within the Gargantia. At first, Mayuri-san thought that it was caused by the remaining hollows in Hueco Mundo, but then we noticed that the disturbance seemed to be a bit nearer than that. So Kurotsuchi sent his assistant, Nemu, to the Garganta to see what the cause of the disturbance was, and once she was inside, she felt something that originated from within the Garganta. It seemed to come from beneath her feet, so when she delivered the report to Kurotsuchi, he surmised that it was just as he had expected it when he had opened the Garganta for you and Unohana-san to get back to the World of The Living during the war. He had said something about investigating the world that lay between the Garganta, and even though it was meant to be a joke more than anything, he still kept the thought fresh in his mind. The report from Nemu-san confirmed it. There was a massive accumulation of Reishi that seemed to occur from within that abyss, meaning there were people there, or more likely a spiritual being. Therefore, we decided to name it "The Siphoned World," since it was a world that lay between two worlds, much like the Dangai. Mayuri-san delivered this report to the Head Commander, and the whole of Gotei 13 was informed about this. The Captain Commander told us to all be on our toes since we didn't want anything like what happened with Aizen to occur again, and we all agreed to be on guard all the time. However, this current incident with Inoue seems to have been too sudden for anyone to notice anything. At first, it looks like an ordinary kidnapping, but no matter how good of a warrior you are, it's almost impossible to erase your traces perfectly. The kidnapper left behind a trail of reiatsu, and it's the same reiatsu that Nemu-san felt when she dived into that world. Meaning, Inoue Orihime was taken into the Siphoned World." Urahara concluded. He phrased it in the best terms possible since he knew that Ichigo wasn't really the brightest egg out there, and he liked knowing all the details of something fully. He watched Ichigo's face to look for any signs that he had understood what he had just explained, and after noticing the perplexed look on his face disappear, he knew that he had understood all that Urahara had said, or at least most of it.

"So meaning Inoue-san has been taken into the Garganta, right? Meaning it's the same thing as last time, all we need to do is open the Garganta and go rescue her, right?" It was Ishida who spoke up this time. The perplexed look on his face had also disappeared, and Urahara was glad that he also understood it. He was a bit happy that Ishida was a genius at understanding things like this. He looked at Tatsuki and even if she was trying to rack her head around it, he was sure that she would believe it once they went into the said world. "Yes. However, this time, you don't have to make a full road until you reach Hueco Mundo, you just have to make a path until you reach somewhere like the centre, or somewhere within the middle, and then you dive from there downwards into the abyss. Of course, you have to use reishi to control your descent, or else you might crash into your death," Urahara explained. At that moment, the door was knocked, and the four people within the room understood what the knock meant. Sado Yasutora had arrived.

"I'll go get it," Tatsuki replied, and once she went to open the door, Ichigo quickly spoke to Urahara. It was more of a command, rather than a request, and Urahara understood part of the reason why Ichigo was so edgy. "Urahara-san, could you please open the Garganta right away. If Inoue really has been taken into such a strange place, there's a chance that she might be in frenzy right now, since I don't think this time is the same as when she was kidnapped by Ulquiorra. That time, she had been warned to come with him or else we would be killed, but this time she was just taken away without any prior warning. There's a chance that she may have started fighting back against the enemy, and the enemy may decide to…." Ichigo couldn't complete the sentence. It was too much for him to say, and he felt that if he said it, it would really come to pass. Karma had a weird way of working like that. If Inoue was really dead by now, he was sure that he would run amok in the destination they were headed to, without regard for his life or even the enemy's life. Inoue was kind of like the sunshine in his life, owing to her bright nature and the way she was always cheerful around him and tried to cheer him up, and to tell the truth she sometimes helped make his days cheerful when he felt run down in the mill. Losing her was equivalent to losing that sunshine, and he was not sure how he would be able to cope with it. Shaking his head to clear such thoughts, since he did not know when he had started holding Inoue in such a high pedestal compared to the rest of his friends. Sure he valued all his companions and would run to the ends of the earth for them, he felt that with Inoue there was something more. Something special. He couldn't quite place his finger on it, but he figured that he would have the answer once he had Inoue back.

"Sure thing, Kurosaki-san. Let me go and make preparations," Urahara said as he got up from his seated position on the ground. "Thank you," Ichigo silently murmured to him as he passed by, and Urahara replied, "Of course, anything for Kurosaki-san's girlfriend." Ichigo got a bit flustered, and before he could turn and ask Urahara what he meant, he had already descended into the basement. Sado then entered the room him and Ishida were currently in, and owing to the sweat drops that were on his face, Ichigo realized that he must have run at a neck-breaking speed to get there. He smiled a little, knowing that Sado also viewed Inoue as an irreplaceable friend to him, and he couldn't bear the thought of losing her. "Ichigo, I came as soon as Ishida called me, but he didn't give me all the details over the phone, saying that he would explain more as soon as I got here. What happened?" the dark-skinned man asked between heavy breaths. He placed himself on the ground and attempted to catch his breath, and Ichigo looked at Ishida, who shook his head and said, "I get it already. I know someone of an inferior brain like yours won't be able to explain properly, so I'll handle it." Ichigo smirked at him a little, before saying, "Thanks, Ishida." Ishida shrugged, and said," Don't thank me, Kurosaki, it's creepy." The blue-haired man then got up from his position on the ground, and moved to where Sado was currently seated, to be in a better position to explain to him. Tatsuki sat near the broad shouldered man, and patted his back to make him calm down. After hearing about where Inoue had just been taken, she had a feeling that they would probably need all their best hands to rescue her, so she knew that Sado was an invaluable asset at that point of time. The sooner she helped him recover his breath, the sooner they would depart for The Siphoned World, and the sooner she could see her best friend.

Ichigo left Ishida explaining to Sado all that had transpired, and descended to the basement to see if Urahara had completed the preparations. True enough, once he had reached the final step, he saw the familiar rift in the atmosphere, and the void that lay between it, although this time it felt a bit thicker than usual. It felt as if there was a dense reiatsu in the midst of that void, and this strengthened Urahara's explanation earlier. Urahara nodded to him from a high point just near the Garganta's entrance, the same high point that he had seen them off from the first time they had gone to Hueco Mundo. He beckoned for Ichigo to go and get the rest of his group so that they could depart for Hueco Mundo, and as Ichigo made to go back upstairs, he heard a voice call out to him. Actually, it sounded like the voices of two people who had spoken as one, and it came from the within the void.

"Not so fast, Kurosaki Ichigo. We're coming with you," the voices said. Ichigo was shocked, not by the voices, but by whom they belonged to. He had heard those voices somewhere before, and one of them belonged to an ally he had, the other to an arch-nemesis he had a while in the past. From the Garganta, the two people emerged, and after seeing their faces, he was shocked beyond belief. The two voices were from….

_End_

**A/N: **Well, that chapter was indeed longer than the previous one, a fact which I'm happy for, since when I began it at first I didn't think it would be this long. However, I'm happy it's as long as this and I finally revealed where our princess currently is. And as for whom the two voices belonged to, I'll let you guys take a guess and whoever guesses right gets a spoiler XD I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter, make sure to read and leave a review at the end.


	6. Reinforcements

**A/N: **Hello guys, and welcome to another chapter of "Where they were meant to belong." Again, thank you for all your reviews, follows and favorites so far. They really mean a lot and encourage me to type more and more chapters with more and more words. In this chapter I'm taking a slight detour from Ichigo and the World of The Living, and exploring Soul Society. I hope you all enjoy and make sure to review at the end of the chapter.

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Bleach or any of its characters. They belong to Tite Kubo.

_Reinforcements_

"Is everyone gathered here?" Captain Commander asked from his pedestal in the Gotei 13 Courtyard. He had just summoned all the Captains following a report that he had received from Kurotsuchi Mayuri, the 12th Squad Captain and Head of The Technological and Scientific Research Bureau.

"Yes, Captain Commander," 4th Squad Captain Unohana Retsu replied, after looking around the room to make sure that everyone had arrived after being summoned. True enough, all the 12 squad captains had arrived, even the usually tardy Zaraki Kenpachi, who would have had something better to do than to attend an emergency meeting.

"Very well, "the Captain Commander replied, his eyes still shut. "Kurotsuchi, inform everyone here of the report that you made aware to me a few moments ago," Captain Commander requested the 12th squad Captain.

"Hmph, I didn't want to make a big deal out of it though, "grunted Mayuri, as he stepped forward in a place where everyone in the room had a better view of him. "As my subordinates discovered a few moments ago in their monitoring of the World of The Living, there appears to have been a presence of an odd reaitsu that appeared for an instant, and then disappeared again in a flash. The reiatsu itself appeared around the street where the Karakura shopping centre lies."

"That's near the residence of Inoue Orihime." This was the 10th Squad Captain, Hitsugaya Toushirou speaking. He did not want to admit it to anyone though, he still hadn't thanked the young girl for her hospitality as he and his subordinate, Matsumoto Rangiku, had stayed at her place when they were posted into the real world to deal with the Arrancar threat that had been posed by Aizen Sousuke a year ago. He had kept the young girl's residence in mind, with hope that he would repay her kindness one day.

"Oho, I didn't know that. Well that explains the fact that when the reiatsu had appeared and disappeared, the reiatsu of Inoue Orihime, which we had recorded leaving the store a few minutes earlier, also vanished along with the reiatsu," Kurotsuchi continued with his explanation.

An eerie silence hung in the air after his explanation, but then a few moments later, 5th Squad Captain, Hirako Shinji, spoke up, "No way. Orihime-chan disappeared again?" The blonde Vizard had developed a really good friendship with the girl in his stay as a student in Karakura High, so the news came as a shock to him.

"Are you sure of this?" 2nd Squad Captain, Sui Feng, inquired. She made contact with Inoue for the first time a few months ago after the war, when Inoue had restored the arm she had lost in her battle with Espada number 2, Barragan Luisenberg. She had thanked the girl in earnest, but only to shut up her Vice Captain, Omaeda Ririchiyo, who was bawling out his eyes in happiness at the return of his captain's lost limb.

"Yes, the facts are quite quite reliable," Mayuri replied, confirming everyone's unrest in the room and adding a slightly darker mood to the atmosphere.

"From where did the reiatsu originate from?" 7th Squad Captain, Komamura Sajin asked. His expression had remained the same all throughout the conversation, albeit he felt a bit uneasy in his heart, since it was Inoue Orihime who had restored his arm after he had lost it to Aizen Sousuke.

"The reiatsu originated from the area between Hueco Mundo and the World of The Living, or as we referred to it in the 12th Squad, The Siphoned World," Mayuri replied, still retaining the same calm and unperturbed expression in the courtyard.

"Ara, so your research bore fruit then, Captain Kurotsuchi," Unohana remarked to the 12th Squad Captain. Mayuri looked at her with a smug expression on his face, and then said, "Well, as much as I did not expect it to work, it bore fruit, and really sweet ones at that," Mayuri replied, with an air of amusement in his tone. Unohana simply smiled back at him, before a voice appeared from another corner of the room.

"Excuse me, but what is this Siphoned World that you two speak of?" A perplexed Hitsugaya Toushirou asked the two captains who had just brought up the issue to light.

"Ah, some of you didn't know about this. Well it can't be helped. The Siphoned World is the dimension between Hueco Mundo and the World of the Living. It's like the Dangai Precipice, but here the concentration of spirit particles is a lot denser than in the Severed World," Kurotsuchi explained to the Hyourinmaru Wielder.

"There was actually such a place? Then how come there were no readings from that place till now? I mean Kuchiki-san, Kurotsuchi-san, Unohana-san and Zaraki-san had gone there to help out Ichigo-kun and his friends in the recent infiltration of Hueco Mundo, and even Ichigo-kun and his friends had gone there earlier than the four of them, so how come they didn't encounter any anomalies or spiritual entities from that place? It is a bit odd if you ask me," 8th Squad Captain, Kyouraku Shunsui spoke up. He had tilted his Straw Hat to get a better view of the people in the room, since he had kept his gaze lowered this whole time.

"Well, about that, it seems that there was something that Aizen Sousuke did there en route to Hueco Mundo, much like he had destroyed the Cleaner, and that made the activity in that area drop significantly. However, since Aizen Sousuke was defeated by Kurosaki Ichigo, the activity seemed to have spiked up there again, and by kidnapping Inoue Orihime, I think they are moving towards their objective faster than we even anticipated," Mayuri replied.

"I'm sorry, but "they." You mean that there's more than one entity that may be present in that world, Kurotsuchi-san?" 13th Squad Captain, Ukitake Juushirou implored from the Ashizogi Jizou wielder.

"Yes, we are not sure that there's only one enemy in that world, but I think it's a safe bet to say that it's a whole group of enemies, much like the Espada that we all faced a while ago," Mayuri explained. "Heeh, well I hope they are quite the effort, if they are I wouldn't want to miss out on having a duel with them," Zaraki Kenpachi, the bloodthirsty 11th Squad Captain exclaimed, with an air of joy in his voice.

"Silence!" The Captain Commander boomed in his loud, commanding voice, while hitting his wooden stick on the floor. At this moment, the whole room was engulfed in a pin-drop silence, and once the Captain Commander confirmed that there were no more voices in the room, he spoke up to the Captain who was standing in his line of vision. "Thank you for the information, Mayuri. You may resume your position."

Kurotsuchi Mayuri took a few steps backwards and took his place between Zaraki and Ukitake, allowing the Captain Commander to talk again.

"As Mayuri explained earlier, there was an incident in the Real World where Inoue Orihime was kidnapped by an enemy from the Siphoned World. Now, we don't know whether the enemy is a Human or a Hollow or even a Shinigami, but one thing that's certain is that we have to launch an operation to save the human," Yamamoto explained to all the Captains who were gathered there.

Everyone present was surprised at their leader's sudden request, more so 6th squad Captain, Kuchiki Byakuya and Zaraki Kenpachi. The two of them remembered how the old man had sent them to get Kuchiki Rukia and Abarai Renji from the World of The Living, once they had refused to return to Hueco Mundo, but had instead opted to remain behind in their attempts to rescue Inoue Orihime. Zaraki simply made an unpleasant sound with his tongue, while Byakuya's eyebrows rose slightly in surprise.

Ukitake, however, could not hide his surprise. "Are you sure about this, Yamamoto-san? I mean there's no need for us to intervene since it's a matter that concerns Ichigo-kun and his living friends, or is it not?" The white-haired Captain had not forgotten the grave look that was on Yamamoto's face when he had refused Ichigo's request to show him how he would get into Hueco Mundo to save Inoue alone. The old man had been so adamant about not letting Ichigo go that he even sent for Rukia and Renji to be brought back to Soul Society.

However, the Captain himself gave orders for four of the Gotei 13 Captains to go to Hueco Mundo a few moments later, but under the guise of bringing down Aizen Sousuke. However, Ukitake had a feeling that he had wanted to assist Ichigo in his request to save Inoue, since the young boy had helped Soul Society recently by saving Rukia and thus unearthing Aizen's plot and bringing the criminal to light. The same could be said with the current situation, but he was still curious to hear Yamamoto's reason to aid in the rescue of Inoue Orihime.

"Yes, I am completely sure about this. Kurosaki Ichigo has helped us immensely in the past, more recently in the defeat of Aizen Sousuke, so it would not be a good image for the Gotei 13 if we refused to aid him this time," Yamamoto explained. The old man had lived for an extremely long amount of time, and as long as he had lived he had learned that it was always respectable to repay people for their good deeds, regardless of whether they did them selflessly or with motives in mind. He himself had fallen to Aizen as well as the other Gotei 13 Captains, so their last lineof hope in that situation had been the orange-haired substitute Shinigami. And he did not betray any of their hopes, by defeating Aizen and enabling them to detain him within the depths of Soul Society.

After he had given his final verdict, the residents in the room were in higher spirits than they had been when Mayuri had revealed to them the grave extent of the situation moments earlier. Certainly, it would not be in good faith if they did not repay Ichigo, who had helped them several times (albeit unknowingly), so it was decided that they would go and help him. Question was who would volunteer to go to The Siphoned World and assist him?

"I'll go." Said a voice in the room. All heads turned at once to see where the voice had come from, while 3rd Squad Captain Rojuro Otoribashi and 9th Squad Captain Muguruma Kensei sighed in dismay. They recognized the voice before anyone else could, having spent a lot of time with the said Vizard in their time in the World of The Living. Hirako Shinji was certainly the kind of man who could put such an expression on the faces of the two captains.

"Hirako Shinji. I see, so you would be willing to go for us then?" Yamamoto inquired from the blonde, to which he nodded with a really elated expression on his face. After breaking his gaze from the Captain Commnader, he met himself looking into the eyes of Kensei, who looked as if he was ready to punch him for what he had just said.

"What's with that expression, Kensei? Orihime-chan is my friend, and I'm going to rescue her. Besides, if we left it to that retard in the real world, he would probably get his ass whooped before we even got there in time to rescue him. So I'm going to give him a hand,"Hirako explained, while maintain that happy-go-lucky tone that he had used while talking to the Head Captain earlier.

The Captain Commander nodded his head slightly then said, "Very well, Hirako-san volunteered to go so he will be a part of the team to go. However, one more captain has to go with him, plus a few vice captains. This is because I don't want to risk sending almost half of our forces out there while we don't know whatever our enemy has planned for us. Two captains and a handful of vice-captains will be enough, seeing as Kurosaki Ichigo and his friends will be there too, so the two teams will cooperate in order to save the human, Inoue Orihime."

At this point, Kensei spoke up, "Okay, okay, Yamamoto-san. I'll go along with Shinji to save Inoue-san. If I left this blockhead on his own in that world, he'd probably get himself lost since he really isn't that reliable." Sui Feng nodded in agreement and said, "I agree. Besides, he was in cahoots with Urahara Kisuke, and nothing good can come out of anyone who associates with that man."

Urahara and Kyouraku laughed a little at Sui Feng's revelation, but the rest of the Captains remained as they were. Since there was no one who protested at Kensei's appeal, Yamamoto spoke up again, "Very well, since Kensei and Shinji have agreed to go out and rescue Inoue Orihime, I think this matter has been settled. Go back to your barracks and once you are done with all the necessary preparations, meet up at the main Senkai gate and go rendezvous with Urahara Kisuke in the World of The Living. He'll open the Garganta for you where you'll enter the Siphoned World from. Meeting adjourned." The Head Captain said with an air of finality, and the Captains Cleared from the Courtyard.

_6__th__ Squad Barracks_

Abarai Renji sat in the middle of the room, awaiting his Captain's return while his knees shook nervously. Kuchiki Byakuya had departed that morning while telling him that something had happened to Inoue Orihime, but did not disclose further details since they were just baseless rumors at that point. Renji had been shocked to hear this, since he had thought that they had finally managed to put the worst behind them once they had rescued Inoue from Aizen, but it seemed like that was just the beginning of their woes. So here he stood, awaiting his Captain's return and hoping in his mind that his Captain would listen to his request to go and help rescue Inoue, since the girl was his friend.

The door of the room slid open slowly to reveal the Captain, who entered the room slowly. Renji almost tripped on his feet as he went to welcome his Captain back, and once he had reached him, he asked, "Kuchiki-taichou, how did the meeting with the Head Captain go? Any news about Inoue-san?"

Byakuya opened his eyes to meet his red-haired Vice Captain's eyes, and replied in a slow tone," Inoue Orihime has been kidnapped by an enemy who has been reported to be in the World between Hueco Mundo and The World of The living, or rather the Siphoned World. Soul Society has decided to assist Kurosaki Ichigo in his attempts to rescue his human friend, and as such Hirako Shinji and Muguruma Kensei have been sent with orders to save Inoue Orihime."

Renji's eyes widened with surprise as the news hit him full-on. Certainly, he had not expected news of such magnitude, so he simply stared at his Captain in disbelief. Then, the next words he said almost came out in a jumble, owing to how quickly he said them, "Captain! I want to go with Hirako-taichou and Muguruma-taichou! May i?" He had already made up his mind that he would go save his friend, so all that was left was his Captain's acceptance, and he would set off right there and then. Heck, even his Zanpakutou was already set at his hip.

Byakuya walked farther into the room, and once he was a foot away from Renji with his back turned towards him, he said, "The Head Captain said that two captains and a handful of vice-captains will be assigned this mission. Go and see him in the Ist Squad Barracks and inform him of your intention to go on this mission if you want to go."

Renji felt happiness well up in him, so immediately he replied to his Captain, however it almost came out as a shout owing to the emotion that was in the voice, "Thank you so much, Captain!" And with that he darted out of the building, his destination the 1st squad barracks.

Kuchiki Byakuya smiled a little at his Vice Captain's enthusiasm, and proceeded to carry on with his paperwork, enjoying the silence that had entered the room as soon as Renji had exited.

_13__th__ Squad Barracks_

Ukitake Juushirou entered his barracks while sighing a little due to the outcome of the meeting. He had been a bit exhausted since he did not expect the meeting to turn out like that, however, he was lucky that things hadn't gotten a turn for the worst, and that they had managed to find a solution to the entire predicament.

Immediately he had entered the barracks however, his two vice-captains, Kiyone Kotetsu and Sentaro Kotsubaki immediately stormed him with questions regarding whether he was feeling okay or whether the meeting had gone well. Ukitake, who had gotten used to their antics by now, smiled and nodded to them that there was nothing to worry about.

"Ukitake-taichou!" Ukitake's eyes moved to the third inhabitant who was currently in the room, an unseated officer but an equally strong member of his squad, Kuchiki Rukia. She looked at him with worry in her eyes, since he had told her that there was a chance that Inoue was in trouble, owing to some disturbing news that he had received from Kurotsuchi Mayuri earlier that day.

Immediately, Ukitake's expression changed into a more serious one, something which Kotetsu and Senjuro did not fail to notice. Immediately, they backed away from their captain, and once they did, he told Rukia, "Kuchiki! Go to the Ist Squad Barracks and get Yamamoto-san's permission to head to the World of The Living. Go and assist in the mission to rescue Inoue Orihime, as soon as possible! You'll be informed of the mission details once you rendezvous with the others at the Main Senkai Gate. Go now!" He issued his orders.

Rukia's eyes widened in surprise, before she quickly understood the orders which her Captain had issued to her. Immediately, she went and grabbed her Zanpakutou, and set off for the Ist Squad barracks at top speed.

_8__th__ Squad Barracks_

Kyouraku Shunsui was lying on the roof of his Squad Barracks, with a piece of grass in his mouth and his straw hat tilted to cover his face against the blazing heat. He had decided to get a nap after the meeting, since they had already arrived at a consensus, but there was one thing he needed to do before he dived into slumber.

His eyes moved upwards as a shadow was cast over his face. Smiling a little as he saw the slender frame of the person he had just called for.

"Hey, Lisa-chan," Kyouraku greeted his squad member who had just graced him with her presence. Yadomaru Lisa was once his Vice-Captain, but after the whole Vizard incident with Aizen and with her getting banished to the World of The Living, he had Ise Nanao take her place. However, once they had been cleared of all charges and were allowed to get back into Soul Society, she went back to him seeking to regain her former position as his Vice Captain. However, since the position had already been occupied by Nanao, she had settled with being a seated officer, and she took up 3rd seat. Her strength was already on that level though.

Kyouraku had sent Nanao to call Lisa a few moments earlier as he had a request of her. After seeing Hirako and Kensei volunteering to go and rescue Inoue Orihime, he realized that she had to know about the condition of two of her comrades, since she had spent a lot of time with them in the world of The Living.

"So, why did you call me? I hope you didn't just call me so you could stare at my boobs or fondle them," expressed a slightly irritated Lisa. She was reading her favorite books when Nanao showed up at her compartment, informing her that she had been called by their captain.

"Oh, Lisa-chan I'm not that much of a pervert you know. I called you here to inform you that your two friends, Hirako-kun and Kensei-kun are heading to the world of The Living to save Inoue-chan, so I wanted you to go with them. Will you? Kyouraku requested of his cute subordinate.

Lisa stared at him a little with an unreadable expression on her face, before turning her back to him and saying, "Hmph, you better pay me well for this when I get back. I want a month's collection of my favorite books when I get back plus no duties for a month so I can read them all."

Kyouraku widened his eyes at her request before smiling at her and saying, "Okay, Lisa-chan. Just make sure to come back safely."

And with that, Yadomaru Lisa set off.

_4__th__ Squad Barracks_

Unohana Retsu was walking in the hallways of her barracks, maintaining a serious expression on her face owing to the meeting they had just had regarding Inoue Orihime's whereabouts. Truthfully, she had come to see the young human woman in a new light after she had successfully managed to restore the limbs and bodies of most of their casualties after the war, even admitting that her own medical skills were greater than for the veteran fourth squad captain. Hearing that she had been kidnapped again, of course, did not settle well with the woman, so immediately she made a decision. Of course she could not accompany those who were heading out into the siphoned world, but she would support them in her own way as much as she could.

Immediately, she caught sight of her vice-captain, who was kneeling in front of the entrance to the squad barracks, preparing to welcome her Captain home. Kotetsu Isane had a whole lot of respect for her captain, owing to how much she wished to accompany her everywhere she went, since she even dived into Hueco Mundo with her a few months earlier.

However, this time, Isane was going to be heading out alone, as per her captain's instructions.

"Isane, go to the 1st squad barracks and ask the Head Captain to send you as part of the rescue team to retrieve Inoue Orihime-san from the enemies' clutches. Receive instructions regarding your destination and the mission specifics from the other people you will find there. Hurry, time is of the essence," Unohana requested her Vice Captain.

Isane immediately got up from her position on the ground, replied with a firm, "Yes, Captain!", and set off for her destination.

_9__th__ Squad Barracks_

In the midst of the room, stood Muguruma Kensei, beside his Vice Captain, Hisagi Shuuhei, the two of them prepared to leave for Hueco Mundo. Kensei always liked heading everywhere with his Vice Captain, since he felt that it was a Captain's duty to always protect his subordinates no matter the situation, so he had decided that he would be tagging Shuuhei along for this mission. Hisagi, who was glad enough to be of service to his current Captain after feeling that he had failed to save his former Captain, Tousen Kaname, so he decided that this time he would accompany his captain to wherever he lead him, even if it was to the depths of Hell itself.

**A/N: **To be continued.


	7. Unexpected Reunion

**Chapter 7**

**Unexpected Reunion**

…..a man who Ichigo had not expected to see again for the rest of his life, ever since he escaped that hellish world a little over a while ago. The man himself was an enemy who Ichigo had crossed blades with more than one time ever since Aizen Sousuke began his plan to take down the Soul King. Yes, the grin on his face was unmistakably familiar. Said man in question had light blue spiky hair and light blue eyes, the latter with green lines below them. He was clad in a white hakama, a black sash and a ragged white jacket with an upturned collar. On his exposed chest, lay a large scar across his torso, one which he had received in his first battle with the man in front of him. Yes, the man's name was Grimmjow Jeagerjacques.

Ichigo was about to open his mouth to protest, to express his utter shock at the man's unexpected appearance, but suddenly he felt the air get knocked out of his lungs. Suddenly, a bush of green hair obscured his vision, and he was pinned to the ground in a hug that had him gasping for air. The person who hugged him was the second member of the duo who had just emerged from the Garganta, and Ichigo was surprised to see her so soon. Not that he minded her presence though.

The woman in question had hazel eyes and long waving greenish-blue hair, which was a bit similar to Grimmjow's in a few areas. She had a large scar coming down from her forehead to her nose and a crimson line that stretched horizontally across her face just below her eyes. She was clad in a skirt and a top, connected by a strip across her abdomen. Yes, the woman was the former number 3 Espada, Neliel tu Oderschvank.

She continued to press Ichigo towards herself in a bone-crushing, and Ichigo flailed his arms around in a fruitless attempt to extricate her from him. Grimmjow, who was watching the entire scene that was unfolding before him with indifference, suddenly exhaled loudly, enough to catch the attention of the two people that lay on the ground in front of him.

"Neliel, you're killing him. And I don't think that's the reason we came here."

Immediately, the green-haired woman, who was beaming at no one in particular from her position on Ichigo's shoulder, gasped in surprise, before quickly releasing the orange-haired boy from her hold. Ichigo, whose consciousness was slowly seeping away from him, immediately realized that his breath had returned, and began coughing vigorously to clear his lungs. For some really odd reason, this felt like an extreme case of déjà vu.

"Damn it Nel! Lay off on the super strength when you're hugging someone. You could kill them!" Ichigo exclaimed, between rapid intakes of breath. For the short time that he had known Neliel while in Hueco Mundo, he had not quite gotten used to her extreme over-the-top antics when she was around him. Sure she had warmed up to him pretty quickly over their adventure in Las Noches, but still, there was only so much a man could take before it made him break. Literally, break.

"Oops! Sorry about that Ichigo! Hehe, I guess I couldn't really help it because it has been too long since I saw you. You took off so suddenly after the last time I saw you and since then I never saw or heard from you again," Neliel replied, with a certain tone of sadness at the last part of what she had just said.

Ichigo, who was finally feeling free enough to move, felt his eyebrows widen in surprise, before he felt guilt well up inside him. True enough, what Nel had said could not be justified by anything he said now, and he felt a tad terrible about it.

_When Aizen Sousuke had broadcasted the announcement in Hueco Mundo that he was finally leaving the domain and heading for The Real World, he had added on that Inoue Orihime was left alone in Las Noches, and that whoever wanted to rescue her was welcome to try it. At this revelation, Ichigo, who was in a certain area of the vast desert, alongside Zaraki Kenpachi( who had just completed his battle with the 5__th__ Espada, Nnoitra Jiruga), Kusajishi Yachiru and Neliel, who Inoue had just completed healing. Before she was whisked away by the 1__st__ Espada, Stark Coyote, in a flash before Ichigo and Zaraki's eyes. Immediately, Ichigo took off towards the palace, in pursuit of his friend, paying no heed to Zaraki and Yachiru. He didn't even bother saying anything to Nel, his sights focused on a certain light-orange haired petite girl._

Now that Ichigo thought about it, he felt really terrible that he didn't at least say a goodbye to Nel, and promising to return alive. The girl had been with him throughout his entire trip through Hueco Mundo, and had even saved his life twice already, in his fights with Dordonii Alessandro and Nnoitra Jiruga. Ichigo was not the type to throw off acts of help like this, so the guilt he felt inside him was due to all the right reasons. He looked at Nel, a somber expression on his face, before opening his mouth to say the words he didn't say to her back then.

"Sorry about leaving you behind Nel. I guess I got a bit carried away with saving Inoue Orihime, and forgot to say anything to you. I'm really sorry."

Neliel, who was looking at Ichigo with a small pout on her mouth, felt her expression soften at his sincerity, and smiled at him brightly, before saying, "It's okay! I'm not that mad really. I guess you were in a hurry back then to save Inoue-san, right? Then it's all okay! She is your friend after all!"

_No, it's not okay,_ Ichigo thought. Neliel was his friend too, and nothing would excuse leaving her behind like that. There was something more that compelled to him to rush towards Inoue like that, something more than mere friendship. He was sure that if Nel was caught in a sticky situation like that too, he would rush to her side as soon as he could, but it just wasn't the same as he felt with Inoue. Before he could delve into his thoughts further regarding this, he remembered one particular issue that he was supposed to address, long before the matter with Nel happened.

Shifting his gaze to the blue haired man who was a distance behind Neliel, his expression slowly changed into a frown, and he almost shouted the words he said next to him, "You bastard! What are you doing here?!" Ichigo could not, for the life of him, understand what Grimmjow was doing there. He was just about to set off to save Inoue, and suddenly this guy appeared. He did not have time to deal with the Espada at the moment.

"Yes, well, I think we'd all like the answer to that, wouldn't we?"

A fourth voice suddenly appeared at the place where the trio of human and espada were, and Ichigo traced the source of the voice to discover that it was from Urahara. He had descended from his high point in the cliff from where he had opened the Garganta from, and was walking towards Ichigo, Grimmjow and Neliel, his hands folded in his sleeves. He had seen the two Espada emerge from the Garganta, and immediately recognized them, since Inoue had told him about all that had happened to her after her safe retrieval from Hueco Mundo. Although, he had not expected the two of them to appear at such timing. Just what did they have in mind?

Grimmjow turned his head to face the sandal-wearing man, and vaguely remembered seeing him in Ulquiorra Schiffer's report to Aizen after him and the 10th Espada, Yammy Riyalgo, went to the Real World to test out Ichigo's current power level. At the time, he really didn't pay much heed to the man, even dismissing Ulquiorra's explanation about how it would have been impossible to handle both him and the female shinigami who was with him at the time, Shihouin Yoruichi. Grimmjow merely thought that the man was another vermin who he could not spend a lot of time with in a fight, but upon this close proximity, he realized that he had judged the man too quickly. Urahara Kisuke was easily captain-level, and Grimmjow realized that he had to choose his next set of words carefully, lest he ended up on the wrong side of the man.

However, at that point, there was another flash of green, and Neliel immediately rushed to place herself between Urahara and Grimmjow, her arms outstretched. She herself had noticed the aura that was released by Urahara as he approached the duo of her and Grimmjow, but more so Grimmjow. She had wondered why not her first, but then realized that the greeting that she had given Ichigo was hardly that of an enemy, but one of seeing a long-lost friend after so long. With Grimmjow, however, it was different. Ichigo had stared daggers at him from the moment he had appeared at the mouth of the Garganta. Neliel surmised that this probably did not mean a warm welcome for Grimmjow, as it had for her, so she had to do something about it. The two of them had come here together after all.

Urahara stopped in his motion, and his expression softened a little, as he realized who the female Arrancar before him was. She was a girl who had been Ichigo's ally in his short stint at the Hueco Mundo, so she was a good sign. However, this did not make sense as to why she was with the blue-haired man.

"Well hello there, Neliel-san. Glad to see you're still doing okay," the green-clad shinigami exclaimed. She deserved at least as much as a greeting from him, he thought. Neliel, realizing that her earlier assumptions about herself being regarded as an ally by Urahara, lowered her arms at the man's unexpected greeting. They were off to a good start, she thought.

"Hello to you too, kind sir," Neliel replied, with as much respect as she could muster. It was important to maintain an air of formality when dealing with new people, Neliel reminded herself, after remembering how she treated each of the Espada in Hueco Mundo, alongside their leader, Aizen Sousuke. Urahara was caught unawares by this, more so caused by the fact that Neliel had referred to him as "kind sir." People rarely referred to him as that, most of them choosing to refer to him as "Urahara-san" or simply "Urahara." He felt his expression soften further, and considerably, the hostile intent he was releasing earlier began dissipating away, being replaced with a much friendlier one.

Neliel, upon realizing this, decided to pursue further with the reason why they had decided to show up at this exact time. "Well, I'll get to the main point then. The reason why we appeared here in front of you guys today was so that we could assist you in your attempt to rescue Inoue-san,' Neliel explained, in the bluntest manner she could muster. Such things were better off being explained as soon as possible, since they proved to be the exact endeavor that their counterparts were facing at the moment.

At that realization, Ichigo and Urahara opened their eyes wider, and Grimmjow simply let out a "Tsk" from his mouth. He had not exactly been all chummy about the idea of coming here to help out the human Kurosaki Ichigo in his attempt to rescue Inoue Orihime. He had come here explicably for different reasons.

"Y-you…..how did you know about that?" Ichigo immediately questioned the green-haired woman. As far as they were concerned, only Urahara, and his companions upstairs knew about the news of Inoue's disappearance, and it was still merely conjecture. The news was not even supposed to have reached Soul Society yet (but Ichigo had a nagging sensation in his gut that they had probably figured something out, since they were always keeping tabs on the Real World anyway). However, it was a different case with Hueco Mundo. They had absolutely no way of knowing what was going on in the Real World, since their leader had already been sealed away by Soul Society. He was the only one who was capable of having such information, but he was not supposed to be here. Ichigo then realized something immediately that made his stomach churn in anger, and before he could control himself, he found himself grabbing Grimmjow by his shirt.

Neliel immediately shifted her gaze backwards after realizing the sudden movement that had occurred behind her. Her gaze settled on Ichigo grabbing Grimmjow, with his teeth gritted and his eyes obscured by his long hair. Then, he looked upwards at Ichigo, whose expression had remained impassive all throughout Ichigo's sudden outburst. With a bit of amusement, Urahara noticed that his hands were still tucked away into the depths of his pockets.

"Cut the bullshit, Grimmjow! Just why are you here? I can understand Neliel coming here but you?! Spit it out! I swear to God if this is some twisted game of yours to get back at me because of the last bout we had by using Inoue….!" Ichigo suddenly stopped, having come short of breath. He had not exactly been wrong to jump to this conclusion. As he was well aware, Grimmjow had not hesitated to strangle Inoue after she had refused to heal Ichigo's injuries at Las Noches before the final battle of the two, and he had even shot a Gran Rey Cero at her just to get Ichigo to release his Hollow Mask. Heck he even shot 6 missiles at her in his Resurreccion form, just to create an opening with which he would be able to land a devastating blow on Ichigo's body. Yes, this all made sense. There was no way on fucking hell that Grimmjow would want to rescue Inoue, not after all he had put her through already.

However, what met Ichigo's ears after this was a laugh. A laugh that sounded so horrible, it almost grated Ichigo's ears. When he looked up, he realized that Grimmjow was laughing, in very much the same manner that he had laughed after seeing Ichigo release his Hollowfication. It was a laugh full of scorn and sarcasm, and Ichigo had to resist the urge to punch the guy square in the face. No, it wouldn't do him any good to lose his temper any further than he already had. The more time that they wasted here, the more Inoue could be landing herself further and further into hot soup, and Ichigo could not forgive him if he let that ever happen. He couldn't lose her. Not now. Not ever.

After Grimmjow's meticulous laughter, he silently closed his mouth, and then stared at Ichigo, who was still grabbing onto his shirt. Then, he opened his mouth to reply to what the orange-haired man had insinuated earlier, about what his true intentions were.

"Give me a break Kurosaki. I don't stoop as low as targeting people's loved ones just for a matter as mundane as revenge. If I wanted a fight with you I'd just come here and give it to you head-on, with no cheap or petty tricks. And that's why I'm here."

"You- Wait, wha-" Ichigo started, before being dumbfounded by what Grimmjow had said next.

Grimmjow, upon realizing that he was in a much safer position than he was before Urahara Kisuke had began walking ominously towards him, decided to carry on with the rest of the conversation. He was lucky as hell that Neliel was there with him to ward off Urahara, and made a mental note to thank the woman later.

"You heard me. I came here to kick your ass. I finally managed to recover from the injury that bastard Nnoitra landed on me at the end of my battle with you, and I was just lying around in Las Noches since Aizen and the Espada were all gone. Then, this woman approached me one day, after realizing just how much free time I had in Hueco Mundo. She was in her adult form, and I was a bit befuddled, as the last time I saw her I could swear that she was in that infant form," Grimmjow began his explanation, before he was cut off by Urahara.

"Wait, what do you mean by "adult form"? Normally her form is supposed to be that of an infant, right? So how did she revert into her original form?"

"Oh, I actually have Inoue-san to thank for that. The truth is, after my fight with Nnoitra, she used her **Soten Kisshun** on me to heal the injuries that I received after that fight. However, the technique did more than heal my injuries. She managed to seal the crack that I had on my skull, the one I received from Nnoitra all those years ago when he staged that surprise attack on me," Neliel started, and then pointed her finger at the top of her head, while lowering it for Ichigo and Urahara to get a better look of the injury. True enough, there was no crack, and her mask looked as good as new.

"Once she did this, I realized that reiatsu would no longer leak out of me, so I would finally be able to maintain my natural form permanently now. However, it took some time for my reiatsu levels to finally go back to normal, but finally all my Spiritual Power returned, and well, here I am now," Neliel explained, then smiled nonchalantly after saying this. Ichigo was a bit carried away by this news, as he had not expected such a drastic turn of events, but nonetheless he was happy that the girl had regained her original body. He preferred seeing this side of her than the kid her, but with the kiddy part he nearly lost his marbles watching out for her.

Urahara nodded, his hand placed at his chin in amazement, as he had not heard about something like this ever happening. Inoue's abilities were truly amazing. However, Grimmjow suddenly spoke up again, deciding to continue with his earlier explanation.

"Well, this woman appeared in front of me one day, I think realizing that I was an enemy who you had fought before. She then told me that she was planning to go to the Real World to pay you a visit and also to thank Inoue, and I was welcome to tag along with her. Of course, at first I was opposed to the idea, but then she added on that since me and you had fought so many times already, we were supposed to be friends! "

Ichigo turned his head in confusion at this point, before uttering just what Grimmjow had said earlier.

"Friends?"

"Ha! Can you believe the woman? She said that I and you reminded her of the way she was with a former comrade of hers, called Nnoitra, the way we always used to fight each other. But then, at the end of our last battle, you decided to suggest that we should stop the fighting once and for all, and then you said that we would settle the score another day, so I was supposed to hold off at least for then. Nnoitra then landed a surprise blow on me, which hurt like a motherfucker by the way, and when he was about to land the final blow on me, you intervened and saved me. So Neliel said that if I came to see you with her, I would definitely get the chance to have a rematch with you. So I was like "Fuck Yeah!" Finally I get the chance to beat this motherfucker, who had the gall to save me even when we were enemies. Seriously that left a really vile taste in my mouth," Grimmjow concluded, and then saw Ichigo dumbly following up on what he was saying, although barely. The dumbfounded look on his face was wearing away though.

Finally, after a few minutes of escalated silence, where everyone in the area kept their attention solely focused on Ichigo and Grimmjow, Ichigo finally spoke up.

"So you came here to get an ass-whooping, again."

"Correction. I came to whoop the shit out of your little ass."

"So what does this have to do with rescuing Inoue?"

Neliel interjected between the two at this point, deciding to answer Ichigo on Grimmjow's behalf. "Well, the truth was, as we were coming here, whilst we were in the Garganta, we felt an oddly familiar reiatsu emerging from the depths of the Garganta. We stopped, and then I decided to get a better feel of the reiatsu, since my reiatsu detection skills are obviously better than Mr. I-Wanna-kick-Everyone's ass here, "at this point Grimmjow looked away in what was obvious shame, but nonetheless Neliel continued," Well, I realized that the reiatsu belonged to Inoue, and that made me realize that something was wrong. Extremely wrong, at that. There was no way that Inoue could be in such a place, since you guys safely rescued her. I decided to investigate the rest of the environment that was around her, and realized that she was not alone. There was more than one signal of reiatsu in that area, and all of them were considerably large. So I asked Grimmjow about it, and he said that there was a chance that the woman had been kidnapped by the other reiatsus that were around her, before laughing and wondering how she was scooped away from right under your nose." Ichigo glared daggers at Grimmjow again, his patience threatening to wear thin again for the second time that day towards the blue-haired man.

"Then I asked Grimmjow what we should do, but then he said it would be better to come meet you here in the Real World, since by any chance you were planning your trip here to come and rescue Inoue. He added that it would be better to help you with saving Inoue first, since there were no way you would be able to keep your calm if she was gone. The sooner we helped you rescue the woman, the sooner I could get to whoop your ass, he said. So, here we are right now," Neliel concluded her explanation.

Urahara chuckled a little, and then lowered his hand from his chin. Apparently these two meant no harm at all, having come here for the sole purpose of rescuing Inoue with Ichigo. It actually all made sense now. Neliel wanted to help Inoue genuinely because she was Ichigo's and Inoue's friend, and Grimmjow, well for Grimmjow, it was a means to an end. As long as the girl was back, then he could be able to get another rematch with Ichigo. He was satisfied with as much as that. Surprisingly enough, these two could be trusted, at least until they got Inoue back. For Neliel it was a sure-go that she would stick by Ichigo's side no matter what happened after here on out, but for Grimmjow, Urahara could not be so sure.

Ichigo then released Grimmjow from his grip, and looked at Nel in an appreciative manner. He had not quite appreciated her friendship as he was right now, and was truly grateful that the female Arrancar was on his side in all this. Honestly, he was not sure what he was up against, and the more allies that he had, he felt, the better a chance he stood at saving Inoue.

In his heart, however, he felt as if a burden had been lifted. He had been worried sick whether or not Inoue was still okay, whether she was still alive, that he was not sure he would be able to remain calm for a bit longer if he did not know about her state. Nel had stated that she had felt Inoue's reiatsu as she was in the Garganta with Grimmjow, which meant that she was still alive. Her heart was still beating, and with that, stood his chance of finally bringing her back home. He fekt his resolve within him grow stronger, and for the first time since he had arrived at the candy store, he felt at ease.

"Okay then, I'll believe you Neliel."

Neliel beamed at these words, and almost leapt at Ichigo again in bliss, but decided to hold herself back as they did not have time to lose here. They had to set off as quickly as possible, if they were to stand any chance of making it in time.

Just then, the entrance to the underground lair opened again, to reveal a pair of footsteps that were slowly descending the stairs.

"Kurosaki, what has got your knickers in a twist this time? I could hear you all the way from the living room, and I had to re-explain the situation to Sado-san again…"

Ishida Uryuu's words froze in his palate as he laid eyes on the two new guests who had decided to grace them with their company that evening.

Beside him, Arisawa Tatsuki's eyes widened in shock. There was no way she could forget that face, of the man who was currently standing next to Ichigo. She remembered a time ago in the dark, when she was witnessing from behind a building, Ichigo getting roughed up by a certain blue-haired man. She wanted to go and help him, but she was not sure just how much help she would be in the face of an enemy who clearly had Ichigo on the ropes. Ichigo himself seemed to be wielding a sword, and was clad in attire which she had never seen him in before, so he was clearly stronger than Tatsuki at the moment. Now here the man was again, and Tatsuki could not fathom the reason that he had decided to show up now.

Behind the duo of both Ishida and Tatsuki, Sado Yasutora felt his blood start boiling, as he recognized the enemy as one of the Espada. Remembering his grueling loss at one of their own, who was wielding a scythe that had two edges to it, he had come to realize just how dangerous that this group of people was. Immediately donning his **Brazo Derecha De Gigante, **he prepared to send out a shockwave at the man, who he considered an enemy that needed to be eliminated as soon as possible. He could not understand why the man was in such close proximity with Ichigo, but that would be something he would ask Ichigo as soon as he was done there.

However, almost as soon as he thrust his arm towards Grimmjow to discharge the attack, Ichigo called out to him in a voice full of urgency, "Wait, Chad!" Too late. Sado was caught by surprise, but after realizing that Ichigo had stepped in between him and the blue-haired man, he tried redirecting the attack, but his arm wasn't fast enough. The attack discharged, and went directly for Ichigo. Ichigo was enveloped by a large light, and was about to draw out his Zanpakuto, before his vision was suddenly blocked by a white cloth.

Grimmjow stretched out his hand, and effortlessly redirected the attack in the direction opposite where he, Nel, Ichigo and Urahara were currently standing. Sado's eyes widened in surprise, as he had not expected his attack to be thwarted so easily, even if it was accidental. The same thing had happened in Soul Society, in his fight with Kyouraku Shunsui, and he thought that he had improved greatly from back then. It wasn't exactly pleasing to see.

Grimmjow then waved his hand lightly, and then whistled lightly, before saying.

"Well that wasn't exactly interesting. You're expecting to go rescue that woman with that piss-poor level of power?"

Sado's mouth widened in shock at this, and he was about to go engage Grimmjow in further combat to make him take back his words, but what captured his attention were the last words that came out of Grimmjow's mouth. He knew that they were going to save Inoue, but how? His gaze then shifted to Ichigo, who did not seem the least bit confused by this entire matter, and thought that maybe Ichigo knew what exactly Grimmjow was doing there. He was about to open his mouth to inquire from him, before….

"Kurosaki, just what is the meaning of this? Why do we have these two Arrancar here with us?" Ishida inquired, his eyes slowly examining the room to get a better understanding of what was going on.

"I'll explain en route to the Siphoned World. All you need to know is that these two are on our side now. And they have a better location of where Inoue is, so we'll be counting on them a lot in this rescue mission. Urahara-san, we'll be leaving now," Ichigo said, his gaze focused on Urahara.

Urahara looked at Ichigo pensively for a moment, before opening his mouth, then saying, "Very well then. Do take care, and make sure you manage to bring Inoue-san back safe and sound."

Ishida, Arisawa, Sado, Neliel, Grimmjow and Ichigo positioned themselves around the foot of the Garganta, then after these parting words by Urahara, leapt into the Garganta. They all had one objective. To retrieve Inoue Orihime from the depths of this world.

**A/N: **Ok, first off, I want to apologize that this update took longer than I had intended. I had originally intended to post this last weekend, but I fell sick on Friday so I spent the entire weekend feeling like crap and trying to rest off my disease, so I couldn't be able to write anything last weekend. Either way I hope you guys will like this chapter as you did the previous ones, and cheer on for Ichigo and his friends as they delve into a world unknown. As always, read and don't forget to review. Peace!


	8. The Invasion-Part 1

**A/N: **Before updating this chapter, I would like to apologize so much for the long hiatus that this story has been on. It has been two months since the last update, and honestly I feel like I've let a lot of people down with the extended absence. For that, I am sincerely sorry. School and life can be a bitch sometimes though. I would like to also make the announcement that from here on, the story will be cut into segments, each to represent Ichigo and his team delving into the unknown to save his auburn-haired princess, Inoue Orihime. I hope you will continue enjoying the story as much as you did with the previous chapters, as we have reached the mid-section of this tale. Without further ado, here comes part one of the segments, called, "The Invasion."

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Bleach or any of its characters.

_The Invasion-Part 1_

_Inoue and the Mysterious Man_

The auburn haired girl was stunned at the realization that there was someone else here other than her and the body that had been encased in the glass. She thought that she had been teleported to a location where she was going to be stuck in solitude until someone came to retrieve her, and it happened sooner than she had expected.

The man who appeared uttered words that piqued her interest, so she decided to ask him what he meant when he said them, wanting to confirm that her ears had not deceived her at all.

"Dead? What do you mean, dead?" She asked hesitantly, not expecting to receive any answer. Of course, she told herself, this man was her enemy, and he was not obliged to answer her question in anyway. He had clearly come here to do the explaining of her situation to her, and nothing else. She felt ashamed of herself for a bit, and lowered her head in embarrassment. She should have been better than this, she berated herself, as she had spent quite some time in the custody of the Espada and realized that being in your enemies custody was not an experience she wanted to live through again.

However, to her surprise, the man opened his mouth to reply to her earlier answer. She looked up to see his face held an impassive expression, something akin to what she had seen on Ulquiorra's face every time he came to deliver her food and hold a conversation with her.

"Yes, you heard me. He's dead. He died quite some time ago," the man repeated, and his voice held no sign of grief or remorse. Inoue found this quite strange, so she decided to continue listening to what he had to say. Maybe, she told herself, he was an acquaintance of the man whose cold body now lay behind her.

"Where is this place?" Inoue suddenly asked the man standing before her, completely steering away from the previous topic they were discussing. Leave it to Inoue to completely veer off a conversation she was engaged in with another person. Her best friend, Tatsuki had berated this particular aspect of hers ever since the two of them became best friends, and Inoue found it difficult to comply with her best friend's wishes. Old habits die hard, of course. Still, it was a completely relevant question according to the context in which Inoue and her new visitor were in, so she found no shame whatsoever in asking the question.

The man looked at her with the same expressionless face he had maintained all the while he had been talking to her, and then released a huff of air, before telling her, "This is the Siphoned World. Just as the Dangai lies between Soul Society and the Real World, the Siphoned World lies between Hueco Mundo and The Real World. Now, I'm sure you're wondering the reason why I brought you to this realm today, much less in the presence of our deceased leader.

The human girl feebly nodded, having wondered the same thing for a while now herself. She had never heard of this Siphoned World mentioned by the man before her, and, remembering her trip to and from Hueco Mundo, the first trip with the 4th Espada, Ulquiorra Schiffer, and the latter trip in the safe company of her friends, she never recalled seeing such an area within the Garganta. However, seeing the dead body in the casing, she had an unsettling feeling in her guts that she already knew what she had been summoned here for. Therefore, she had the answer ready in her mouth just as the man uttered his response to his earlier question.

"Inoue Orihime, we brought you here today so that you could restore our leader to life. Revive him." The second statement he uttered to her came out more as a command rather than a request, and Inoue felt her heart sink into her abdomen a little. So that was the reason why he held no remorse or grief in his voice when he announced the man's state to Inoue. He believed that she could heal him, therefore he had no worries. The resolve she had earlier regarding her answer to the man's question weakened a little, before she remembered that it would not do her well to falter here. She had witnessed how her orange haired knight, Kurosaki Ichigo, had fought tooth and nail to save her, from enemies that were clearly leagues away from him in strength, and in that she found her strength. She vowed to be as strong as him, not to falter easily as she had in the past, before she met him, but to stand firm and hold her ground with the choices she made. So, it was with that, she felt her resolve harden, and she contorted her face into a serious expression, before delivering her answer to the man.

"No. I refuse," she said to the man, bluntly.

_I can at least try to be as strong as you, Kurosaki-kun._

The man's expression did not change, even after Inoue's heartened answer, and instead, he lowered his head and chuckled a little. His eyes were shut as he did this, and Inoue stared at him disbelievingly. For a moment, she thought that he had heard her right but thought that she was not serious about it, and she felt herself become displeased. Most people had viewed her as this, they thought of her as this fragile girl who needed to be saved all the time and whose opinion never mattered in the situations she found herself in. Urahara Kisuke had revoked her decision to participate in the Winter War with Aizen, thinking that she was not resolved enough to stand on the battlefield alongside Ichigo and all their comrades. She was hurt deeply back then, and showed it to Rukia once the raven haired girl had come to see her, and decided that she would never let anyone see her that way again.

She raised her hands to her hair pins, her Shun Shun Rikka, which were her weapon, and prepared to release Tsubaki at the man who lay in front of her. There was a chance that her attack would not work of course, but at least with that, the man would take her more seriously. However, just as he touched her hairpins, the man rose from the position he was in as he was caught in his bouts of laughter, then looked at the woman once again.

Her hands froze in place, and Inoue realized that she had lost the chance she had gotten earlier to attack him. She cursed at her own weakness inwardly, preparing for the man to finish her off as he had caught on to what she was doing. Surprisingly though, he uttered the word, "Interesting," and turned his back to walk away from the auburn-haired girl.

Inoue was utterly perplexed by the man's actions, and her wild thoughts told her that the man had set her free. No, this did not sit well with her, she thought, as she weakly opened her mouth, "Wha-", before the man turned his face to focus his steely gaze on her.

"Make no mistake, Inoue Orihime. Even if you wanted to, you could never find the way out of his area. There's no need to for me to restrain your movements in any way. And, for your information, the sooner you consider helping us out, the better the situation will be for you. Heed my words."

He then disappeared as quickly as he had appeared, and in the wake of his departure, Inoue heard the faint sound of a boom in the wind. Her eyes widened in surprise, as she recognized the all-too familiar sound, having witnessed it herself.

"Sonido? That was…a Hollow?"

_Meanwhile, in a certain section if the domain…._

"So, does she look like she's going to revive our leader anytime soon?" A woman, who was clad in a shihakusho, and had a sword strapped to her waist, asked the people she was currently seated around. The woman herself had bags underneath her eyes, and looked as if she had just come from a really long nap. Her hair was messy, and her shihakusho was creased in several areas, as a testament to her terrible sleeping habits.

"Patience, Rier. She'll come too eventually. I think I managed to rile her up a little with my parting gift to her," the man who was just with Inoue, Repu, told his female counterpart. He was seated opposite from her, his hands resting on his knees and casting his gaze downwards. He seemed to be looking at something that lay on the base of their feet.

"More importantly, do you think anyone will come rescue her? It will be troublesome if our plan gets halted halfway due to external interferences," a medium sized man, almost as tall as Repu, talked from another corner of the area that they were currently in. The man's name was Aizer Kuar, and he had a bow strung across his back. His hands were placed at the back of his head, and he placed his legs on the area ahead of him. Aizer was a man of little worries, but when the time called for it, he would be the first among his comrades to leap into action. He also preferred being thorough about every little thing he did.

"I hardly think so. When I snatched her from the World of the Living, I made sure to not leave any residual traces of reiatsu," Repu snapped back, almost immediately. He did not like Aizer's normal laid back demeanor, always insisting that one should be on their toes no matter the situation. But here Aizer was, looking as if he would drift into sleep anytime soon. It irked him, to be honest.

Aizer smiled mischievously, then said, without opening his eyes, "Hee, really now? You were always the worst among us, even in terms of reiatsu control."

And this was another reason why Repu disliked Aizer. He always made fun of his reiatsu manipulation skills. Well, it wasn't as hell his damn fault that he wasn't born a Quincy, unlike the laid back man lying on the opposite side of where he was currently seated.

Taking his gaze away from the ground he was staring at, he looked at the man, a hint of anger growing evident due to the vein that was popping on his forehead.

"Wanna test that out?"

"Silence, you two. This is no time to squabble amongst ourselves. Especially when we are so close to our goal," a third voice interrupted the tension that was currently in the air owing to Repu and Aizer. The man who interrupted them had his hands in his pocket, and was currently staring at the air that surrounded the five people who were in that room. He did not like petty squabbles, much less among his comrades, as he believed they were much better than that.

Repu looked ashamedly to the side, and then muttered silently; in a way that Aizer could hear what he had said. "Tch, I'll still get you for that."

Aizer grinned with his eyes still shut and his hands still behind his head. He was an overconfident one; Repu had to give him that. But well, all Quincy were born like this, with all their 'Quincy pride' and whatnot.

"I will be waiting then, for your due challenge."

At this point, the only female among the group, Rier, spoke up, having grown tired of witnessing the antics between Repu and Aizer. She had been accustomed to seeing it daily, and to tell the truth she had gotten exhausted of it. She preferred men like Copyla, men who kept themselves in check no matter the situation, like the man who stood in front of all of them with his hands in his pocket, or someone like…..she looked around but caught no sight of him. A bit surprised, she asked," Speaking of which, where's Primro-san?"

Copyla then answered her, "Outside, he always wants to keep watch, despite the fact that it is nearly impossible to find this place."

Repu then spoke up, having regained his composure from before his spat with Aizer, "Leave him be. I think this is his way of trying to prove himself to us. He is the latest recruit after all."

Primro had joined the team after from Hueco Mundo, shortly after Aizen arrived to take charge of the Hollow world. He decided that it would be against his pride to serve a Shinigami, so he would be better off looking for somewhere else he could go and make residence in. And thus, he landed in the Siphoned World, where he came across Copyla, Repu, Aizer and the Rier. It wasn't exactly as vast and wonderful as Hueco Mundo, but it was a place he could come to call home soon enough.

"No need, his skills are commendable enough as they are. No matter how…_weird_, they may be," Aizer chipped in. He still maintained his dislike of Hollow, even if he was no longer with his fellow Quincy, an allusion to his pride as a wielder of the Spirit Bow. He did not particularly despise Primra, on the contrary, he admired the man's strength, as he was clearly stronger than both Repu and Aizer. Maybe he was the strongest one among all of the people gathered there at the moment.

Copyla then concluded to the group," In the case there are any invasions, then he will relay the news to us then."

The group all agreed in unison, and then proceeded to wait in patience. It wouldn't be long now, before their leader was revived, then they would proceed to the Paradise that he had promised them once he had recruited them.

_Ichigo and co._

Ichigo, Grimmjow, Neliel, Tatsuki, Ishida and Sado dived deeper and deeper into the Siphoned world. Ichigo propelled himself forward as fast as he could, confident that his comrades could keep up with him. However, there was no change in the scenery around them so far, so he was not sure just how far they had come once they had entered the Garganta. He then asks the entire group, "Are we even getting nearer? It feels like we are heading nowhere with nothing changing at all."

Ishida then spoke up from somewhere behind him, "Calm down, Kurosaki. We're in enemy territory so we have to proceed carefully. One false move and we could fall into a trap set up here. We'll get there in due time, just be patient."

Neliel, who was ahead of Ichigo and his group due to her extraordinary reaitsu sensing skills, which were even better than Grimmjow's, looked backwards and stole a glance at Ichigo. He had a completely serious expression on his face, and the green haired girl could not help but smile a little at how determined he was at the moment. She remembered their time in Hueco Mundo, when Ichigo had placed her atop his head and charged forward at full speed in his quest to save Inoue from Aizen. He hadn't changed a bit, not then, not now.

_So she's that important to you, huh?_

She then affixed her gaze ahead of her, and a gleam of sadness crossed her eyes, but only for a minute. She realized that this wasn't the time or place for that kind of thing, and the only thing they could do at the moment was focus on retrieving Inoue Orihime. What she was focusing on was going to come after that.

The orange haired shinigami of the group looked back behind his shoulder, and realized that he could no longer see the entrance to the Garganta that Urahara had opened for them. So Ishida was right then, they had come quite a distance and were nearly at their destination. Feeling reassured, he closed his eyes a little to get himself revved up a bit more, then rocketed forward towards the dark unknown.

Ichigo decided to keep a close eye on Tatsuki, as it was her first time being caught up in such a situation. Back then, at Urahara's shop, before they proceeded with the rescue mission, he still had his doubts about whether they should let Tatsuki come with them or not. She certainly had put up a strong front regarding why she wanted to go and rescue her best friend, but still, Ichigo felt that it wasn't quite enough yet. She was strong, he had to give her that, since she had owned his ass several times in karate while he was a kid, but this time, like all the other times that they had left without telling her, it was completely different. They were dealing with an enemy that they had no idea how strong they were, and if Tatsuki were to fall into grave danger, he would never forgive himself. He was sure even her auburn-haired best friend could not forgive him if something like that happened. He had half a mind to tell Urahara to cast a sleeping kidou or a paralysis kidou on her, but such an act would be cowardly and Tatsuki wouldn't give him peace of mind once he returned with Inoue and his friends.

The blue haired spiky girl, however, did not seem terrified in the least. Even if it was her first time in the Garganta, and encroaching upon a supernatural enemy like when she had seen Ichigo get pummeled by Grimmjow the first time the Arrancar launched a full assault on Karakura town. On the contrary, her expression displayed the same seriousness that Ichigo had etched on his visage moments prior. However, more than that, there was something else that lay underneath all that seriousness. It was….anxiety? Ichigo's eyes widened in surprise, then he realized that no matter how strong Tatsuki was, she was still human, like him. He couldn't blame her for feeling this way in such a situation.

Sado Yasutora was beside her, and Ichigo got a glimpse of the broad man with the dark brown hair. Well, Sado would do a fine job of protecting Tatsuki, he told himself, so he nodded to the man. Sado, catching Ichigo's expression and gesture, held up a thumbs-up sign to him, to show him that he had gotten the message loud and clear. Ichigo felt the weight that was on his conscience slowly ebb away with that, so he decided to leave Tatsuki in Sado's arms.

Ishida Uryuu was at the vanguard, due to his sensory skills, meaning that there were little to no chances of them being attacked from the back.

Beside him, a voice broke the tranquil atmosphere that the group had been enjoying for a while. It was the last member of their party, the blue-haired Espada. "Nee, Kurosaki, I've been wondering this for a while, but for enemy territory isn't this place a bit too silent? The enemy must have picked up on our presence already. So why?" Grimmjow told Ichigo. As much of a fight-loving brute the man was, Ichigo realized that he made a fair point, so he looked around his surroundings to see if there was anything amiss, or something he had overlooked as they journeyed through the space connecting the two worlds.

"No sign of resistance at all," Grimmjow echoed his thoughts beside him, and Ichigo immediately realized that there was something completely wrong with the entire situation.

It happened in an instant.

Immediately, a whole swarm of Hollows swarmed out of nowhere and proceeded towards the group from the opposite end of the dimension. By the look of it, they were all Gilian class, although there were some Adjuchas among them too. Where did they come from?

"Kurosaki!" Ishida shouted from behind everyone, alerting them to the danger that fast approached them. Immediately, the group stopped in their advance and prepared to face the onslaught of Hollows that had been unleashed on them from Kami knows where. Ichigo began drawing his sword from its bandages, beside him; the blue haired man grinned widely and began flexing his arms. He had not seen battle in a painfully long amount of time, Ichigo thought to himself, as Grimmjow declared, "Heh, I won't even need a sword for such weaklings!" It wasn't exactly a fight with a strong opponent, but still, they were an enemy that the group had to get through before they proceeded onwards.

Then a voice spoke up amongst the group, belonging to one of the two females that were currently with them at the moment.

"I'll handle this. You guys go on ahead and rescue Inoue."

Everyone turned to look at the source of the voice, and Ichigo felt his heart sinking into his stomach.

It was Inoue's best friend, Arisawa Tatsuki.

**A/N: **I know that this chapter is considerably shorter than its predecessor, but I ask you guys to bear with me as this was a short teaser regarding the level of opponents that Ichigo and his friends will face in their quest to rescue Inoue. The chapters will definitely become longer starting next chapter, so stay tuned till then^^ Thank you for all the follows, favorites and reviews. You guys are amazing!


	9. The Invasion-Part 2

**Chapter 9**

**The Invasion-Part 2**

Kurosaki Ichigo looked at Arisawa Tatsuki as if seeing her for the first time.

The words from her previous statement echoing in his mind, his face immediately contorted into an expression of astonishment. He had not believed what she had uttered just then, nor did he want to. Ever since she had stated clearly that she was going to go with him, Ishida and Sado to the Siphoned World to rescue Inoue Orihime, Ichigo had thought in a small part of his mind that he would just have her accompany him, or one of the others, as a support, and not technically fighting on the front lines. While he knew that this was disrespecting Tatsuki and her wishes, he had no choice. This was completely unchartered enemy territory that even he and the rest of his team were not aware of. One small mistake here and she would end up dead, being the weakest in terms of combat ability in the entire team. Hearing her right now stating that she would hold off the hollows, that had some arguably strong individuals in their midst in the form of the Adjuchas, made his insides churn in discord.

"What are you talking about?! Have you seen those numbers?!" The orange haired Substitute Shinigami immediately began in protest, not wanting to allow the tomboy to partake in such a hazardous activity. If it came to it, he would grab her by the waist and drag her with him till enemy headquarters, then once he found Inoue he would carry her with him home. But this….this was unheard of.

"I'm sorry, Tatsuki, but this time I have to agree with Ichigo," this was the voice of Sado Yasutora, the dark toned man chiming in to support Ichigo. Ichigo was a bit surprised, since Sado was normally reserved in situations like this. However, he felt a bit grateful to his friend, owing to the situation at hand.

At that point, there was the sound of something being loaded in front of them, and at that point the faces of Ichigo, Ishida, Tatsuki and Sado turned towards the sound of the noise.

"**Gran Rey Cero!"**

"**Cero!**

The voices of Nel and Grimmjow immediately tore through the air, and there were huge blasts of reiatsu from their outstretched hands. In an instant, the huge horde of hollows, that had gotten dangerously close to Ichigo and his group, all vanished into thin air. There was a moment of silence, as the group silently waited to see what would come of this, but to no one's surprise, a horde of hollows as large as the first one immediately appeared from the depths of the void to fill the space that had been left by the hollows from earlier. The blue haired man immediately called back to Ichigo.

"Hey Kurosaki! You're taking too long over there! Make up your damn minds already!" Grimmjow immediately spat at the orange haired man. He was getting impatient over all this stalling, just as he had felt he had gotten a chance to fight an unknown strong opponent. Any longer than this, he would storm off on his own into the void and find his own opponents to beat the shit out of.

"According to their reiatsu levels, they are the same as last time. More Gilian and less Adjuchas, this time. There are no Menos among them," Nel stated to the group, missing the displeasure that registered in the blue haired man next to her.

Taking this as a cue to resume him talking Tatsuki out of her decision to stay behind while the rest proceeded, he turned his head, but was surprised to find that she had changed her appearance in that short interval. She had changed into a suit that Ichigo assumed was her **Karakura Rizer Beast** suit, owing to the tale she had told him and Ishida as they were heading to Urahara's shop earlier. Her suit was mostly red, with a few white parts around her arms and legs, plus there was a blue head piece on her now.

"You, you're really serious about this, aren't you?" Ichigo immediately began, and was about to start again, before he heard another sentence from the green-haired woman that was in front of them.

"Odd, among all these reiatsus gathered here, there's something in the midst of them," Nel paused a little, trying to decipher the reiatsu, since it was doing an exceptionally good job of hiding itself among the flowing stream of reiatsu. Her eyes then widened in surprise, as she realized the reaitsu was something that she had definitely come across before during her time as a Hollow in Las Noches.

She turned to Grimmjow, who seemed to be unaware of what she was catching on at the moment. "It's a reiatsu almost similar to ours."

At this point, Grimmjow's expression lightened up, and then there was the menacing grin that Ichigo had seen on his visage so many times, especially when the two were about to butt heads in combat. The blue haired man walked a few steps ahead of the group, and stood in front of Neliel.

"Is he strong?" The 6th Espada asked, turning his head lightly to face Neliel, with one eye looking at her.

All he needed was the nod that ensued from the green haired woman after his question.

His insides screamed in delight, as he immediately charged in towards the new enemy that Nel had pointed out to him. The dismay he had been feeling earlier at being confronted with the horde of weak Hollow earlier all ebbed away, as he was elated at the prospect of fighting a strong opponent.

"Hey, Grimmjow!" Ichigo started calling out to him, as it would not do to get separated this early into the fray. They needed to stick together so as to have better chances of making it through this entire new world unscathed.

"Kurosaki, in case you haven't noticed, these Hollow are all being controlled by that person who Neliel just picked up on. The sooner I take care of him, the sooner the girl lives. That is, if she decides to go along with her whims and stays behind. I say let her do what the shit she wants. If she dies it will be her responsibility and hers alone," Grimmjow immediately called out, before being swallowed by the darkness. Ichigo was about to call out again in irritation, but the man was well out of visual and audible range now.

"Oh for the love of-!" Ichigo started, feeling his growing impatience and irritation at the entire matter. It hadn't even been an hour since they delved into this unknown realm and already two members of the crew were already making their own decisions and doing things as they wished. Truthfully, Ichigo knew he was every bit as selfish as them, or even more so, owing to his desire for them to stick close together at all costs, but he was afraid. Ever since that time in Hueco Mundo, when they had al branched off in separate directions in order to go and rescue Inoue, consequentially fighting the members of the Espada, he had grown terribly afraid of losing all of his comrades once they took separate routes. Sensing Sado's 'defeat' at the hands of the Fifth Espada, Nnoitra Jiruga, Ichigo felt his blood turn cold since he had made a promise to return home safely with all of them. Since that day, he had made a promise to never lose any more of them that way.

Here he was, in the present, now facing a dilemma like that. His instincts screamed for him to trust in Tatsuki's strength and let her handle the weakest of the foes, while the rest of the team, that were clearly stronger than her, proceeded. However, in his heart, he felt that he would do best to talk her out of it and carry her on, protecting her for his sake, and for the sake of the girl's best friend, who slowly seemed to be creeping her way into his normally stoic heart with every incident that had happened today. A flash of the image of a smiling Inoue popped up in his head, and he gripped his sword tighter, swearing that he would rescue her at all costs.

Feeling this strong impulse charging through his body, he turned to Neliel, who was still at the forefront of the group. The green haired Espada had her eyes affixed to the area below her, where Grimmjow was currently blitzing his way through the weaker Hollow, steadily making his way to the heart of the crowd. He was positively happy, as he tore past each and every Hollow that was in his way, his hands making quick work of them.

"Neliel."

Ichigo's voice broke her out of her concentration, and she turned back to focus her eyes on the orange haired Shinigami Substitute.

"How exactly is the person you sensed controlling the Hollow that are surrounding this space at the moment? Is it some special technique?" Ichigo asked, his eyes expressing the serious tone he had decided to take at the moment. Yes. He decided. He would trust his comrades. For her sake as well. The smiling face of Inoue that had invaded his thoughts at that moment had made him realize that if she was here, she would probably scold him over being so wishy-washy at this moment, especially when he needed to be strong the most. He smiled inwardly at the thought of how she would be pouting if she found him in this state.

Nel immediately registered the serious tone his expression had taken, and realized that he had finally set his mind on something. She smiled at him, before replying, in a cheerful manner," From the reiatsu I could pick up of the enemy, it's definitely a Hollow. However, the reiatsu is definitely leagues more than all the others gathered here. It's almost at the level of us Espada." She noticed Ichigo's eye widen in surprise, but decided to continue nonetheless. " I would say the Hollow are being attracted to its reiatsu, then the enemy uses their vastly superior reaitsu to control the enemy, thus providing a large never-ending army that continually charges towards the enemy, while he/she just sits back and watches the show," Nel said that last part of the statement with certain disdain, clearly feeling a bit insulted that the enemy had though fodder like this was enough to halt their progress.

Ichigo did not miss that tone in Nel's last sentence; however, he chose not to comment on it. Having a clearer image of the situation now, he closed his eyes in thought, thinking over the situation.

At that point, however, Ishida Uryuu chimed in, the blue haired man having kept silent the entire team.

"Kurosaki, I say we let Arisawa take care of this right now. I and Neliel-san will search for an alternate route into the enemy's stronghold, and having all of us here to stop all these weaklings as they get in our way will only hold us back further. We'll leave Tatsuki here, then Grimmjow will take care of the opponent as quickly as possible, meaning that she won't have to keep batting away at the enemy indefinitely," Ishida suggested, keeping an eye on the entire situation that was unfolding around him. Well, he certainly was smarter than Ichigo, something that Ichigo found highly displeasing.

Still, Ichigo found reason in the man's suggestion, so he decided to go along with it. Turning to Tatsuki to make sure that what Ishida had said was crystal clear, he immediately caught the stern look in her eyes, behind her blue eyeshade. She had definitely heard everything loud and clear. Ichigo found he slightly appalled by the way Tatsuki had been reacting. Normally, in the past, she would have already lashed out at him for not allowing her to be part of something to rescue her best friend, but at the present, she was calm. Ichigo remembered a time when she had punched him into a glass window for refusing to tell her about where Inoue had been abducted to. Reminiscing to that time, Ichigo realized that she had probably felt bad about beating him for trying to protect her and all his friends in the World of the Living. Coming to this realization, Ichigo stepped in front of the girl that had been his childhood friend, and then placed his hand on her shoulder.

"Don't die."

"Same goes to you too, baka."

Ichigo's eyes widened slightly at Tatsuki's response, the first words she had said ever since her bold declaration a few moments earlier, and found himself resisting a chuckle. Letting go of her shoulder, he rejoined the team which now consisted of him, Sado, Uryuu and Neliel. Behind him, he felt the sound of air being ripped through, then realized that Tatsuki had dashed off towards the swarm of hollow that had been left over after Grimmjow's onslaught earlier. They were still plenty of them, but Tatsuki would put her faith in the blue-haired man to finish off the leader as soon as possible, before she ran out of reaitsu. Grimmjow was well out of sight at the moment, probably having reached the destination of the opponent he had been itching to fight since Nel informed him about his presence.

She caught sight of the first hollow, which was accompanied by five hollows on its sides, then drew back her arm for her first attack. The Hollow, noticing what she was about to do, immediately quickened in its progression towards her, but it was a few steps too late. Tatsuki thrust her arm forward, then shouted,

"**Rizer Deadly Magnum!"**

There was a blast of fire, an explosion, and once the smoke had cleared, the Hollow, plus its five counterparts were all gone.

Tatsuki drew back her arm, and flexed her fingers a little. Looking at the remaining hollow, which numbered well over 50, she realized that she would probably be able to go all the way. She grinned, and then charged into the enemies that approached.

In another section of the realm, where Ichigo and his now smaller company were able to find an alternate route into the realm without drawing any more hollows to themselves, well being out of sight of their unseen enemy, the green-haired girl ahead of them caught sight of a dome-like structure that amazingly, was remaining afloat in this dimension of nothingness. She immediately looked back to the group, with the intention of informing them that they had probably reached their destination, but seeing the atmosphere around them grow darker, she realized that she needed to say nothing. They had already seen it too.

At that moment, the orange haired man, feeling positively delighted that they had finally reached a step closer to saving Inoue, opened his mouth to shout out his resolve. The name of the girl that was dear to him. The one that he would leap into hell itself to rescue, if she ever found herself in that place.

"INOUE!"

And, unknown to him, she heard him loud and clear. Within the confines of the area where she had been currently confined to, the auburn haired girl suddenly perked her ears, catching wind of his voice. The voice that had always, always been there to rescue her, no matter the circumstances. Her heart clenched in her thorax, and she held her hand to it, as tears threatened to leak out of her eyes. She felt a mixture of many things at the moment, happiness being clearly one of them.

But of course, she wasn't the only one who heard the voice. Kurosaki Ichigo was a man who never really was meant to carry out stealth missions like this. In the meeting room of the dome, where all four members were gathered, they too, caught wind of the Substitute Shinigami's overly loud voice. Silently acknowledging the invasion of their domain by these enemies, and the fact that Primra had somehow been gotten past, they all felt themselves become enraged.

**A/N: **To be continued.


	10. The Invasion-Part 3

**Chapter 3**

**The Invasion-Part 3**

_Inside the castle, the PL-6_

"That was a rude way to wake up a lady," Rier commented, as she rested her hands on the back of her head. She was still upon the couch that she had planned to get some sleep in, but unfortunately, the shouting of one Kurosaki Ichigo had all but dissipated the first ounces of sleep she was getting. Annoyed, she decided to wake up and discuss with her comrades for the first time in a while how to deal with the threat that had just encroached upon their territory.

"And who was the dumbass who said they didn't leave any traces of reiatsu in the World of the Living?" Aizer commented idly, his face on his hands and one of his eyes open. A vein had popped on his forehead regarding how his peaceful time had been interrupted with by these unknown new enemies, and the only one to blame for the current situation they were in was the human who had snatched Inoue from the Real World.

"Tch…then why didn't you suggest to be the one to go grab her? I'm sure you would have done such a fine job at it," Repu remarked at his comrade. While it was certain that he had definitely messed up at one point or another with the mission he had been assigned by Copyla, their current interim leader.

"Bring it on! While I'm at it I'll teach you a thing or two about reiatsu control!" Aizer snapped back at the human, clearly at the limit of his patience owing to Repu's refusal to take responsibility for his actions. He clearly did not seem to hold any tinge of pride within him, since if he did he would admit to his mistake rather than trying to avert the matter altogether. Irate, he made to grab for his bow, before another voice spoke out in the midst of the five members.

"Enough squabbling among you, Aizer, Repu," Copyla said, in a more commanding voice than requesting, and at this was enough to capture the attention of the two. While they had their differences among each other and the other members of the PL-6, with Copyla it was a different matter. He was the embodiment of respect and authority, with his ever commanding voice, and somehow they did not even dare wonder what would happen to them if they dared cross him or any of the orders he gave out. Slowly, Aizer let go of the bow he was about to arm and folded his hands on his chest, looking away from the others in a bit of embarrassment.

Rier, on the other hand, just giggled at how easy it was for Copyla to scare both her human and Quincy comrades. Their antics were just too amusing to watch each time. However, this time she would not have the pleasure to dwell in her happiness for long, as she placed her hands on her shihakusho and said to the others, in a serious tone," However, with what has just happened; does that mean we can assume Primra-san was beaten?"

The silence that followed her suggestion was deafening. Repu looked at her as if it was the first time he was seeing her. However, it was Aizer who voiced the doubt and disbelief that was nurtured in his heart from that statement. Closing his eyes in concentration, the Quincy said, in a much calmer tone," No, that doesn't seem to be the case. There seems to be quite a strong reiatsu headed to his location at a fast pace as we speak. Not only that," he continued, as he scanned the area outside the castle for the signs of the invaders. It was the first time in so long since he had decided to sense for reiatsu, and in the beginning he was afraid his skills would be too rusty to check for anything, but as he got the hang of it, he was glad that his reishi manipulating skills were still intact," there is one weak reiatsu that is a few leagues away from here. It seems to be beating away at the Hollows summoned by Primra. Heading this way to the castle are four reiatsu signals, and each of them seems to be of equal strength-Wait," he suddenly paused, a bit alarmed as a bead of sweat formed on his visage.

"What is it?" Copyla asked the man, as he took in the information relayed about the intruders. He was clearly not happy at the chance that their plan would be ruined, but he decided not to show it, instead tapping his foot on the ground in a show of growing impatience.

"Among the four, there seems to be someone with an exceptionally high reiatsu. According to this level of reiatsu, it's probably-""Kurosaki Ichigo," Repu finished his comrade's earlier statement. And all the others agreed in silence. Ever since the defeat of Aizen Sousuke at the hands of Kurosaki Ichigo, the orange haired boy had grown into somewhat of a legend among the three planes of existence, Hueco Mundo, The World of the Living and Soul Society. And the current residents of the Siphoned World, who were previously all residents of the great three worlds, were none the less excluded from the information. While they had been somewhat grateful to the orange haired man for getting them revenge against Aizen Sousuke, they still were not going to let him ruin any of their plans. Not while they were already so close to achieving them.

"I see," Copyla commented, ever giving out the maddening impatience he was feeling at the moment. Silently, he stood up, now facing the other three members that were present in the room with him," Kurosaki Ichigo and a group of his has entered our realm. According to Aizer's information, they seem to have left behind two of their comrades to combat Primra and his army of Hollow. Primra will be more than enough to handle them; I don't think he needs any help. Now as for the rest of his group," at this point, he turned to each of his subordinates, looking at each in the eye, before continuing, "we will combat them in our realm. Make sure that each of you gets a mark on at least one of them, and then further ensure that none of them leave this area alive." He concluded his statement with a darker tone. He was already at the limit of his patience.

Silently assenting to their stand-in leader at the moment, each of the members got up from their comfort zones. Rier lazily grabbed her Zanpakuto, heading out to the eastern side as she rubbed her shoulder blades. When this was all over she would go back to getting her beauty sleep, she thought to herself, as a yawn escaped her palate. As Aizer was about to grab his Spirit Bow and head out to the southern side himself, someone tapped him on the shoulder. Disgruntled, he turned his head back only to find Repu looking at him, a smirk adorning his visage.

"What is it? You need something? "Aizer grumbled at the man, his displeasure showing in his voice. He wondered what the human wanted from him currently.

"I found a way for us to settle things between us once and for all," Repu replied, the smirk on his face growing ever so wider. The idea had just occurred to him moments after Copyla had issued their orders.

"How?" Aizer asked a hint of curiosity present in his voice. Clearly he had not expected Repu to come to him with such a suggestion.

"Let's see, how about, whoever takes out his enemy first wins. As simple as that. How does that sound?" Repu replied, his voice brimming with excitement and yet at the same time, satisfaction. Well, it did seem to be quite a fun way to compete, Aizer had to admit. Still, he would not voice such a thought to his comrade, so without saying a word, he shifted his glance away from his opponent back to the path he was intent on taking earlier.

And just like that, he was gone, using his **Flying Screen Step. **Repu was left in the room grabbing at thin air, and a grin breaking out on his face, he immediately made for the western side of the castle. The competition was on.

_Outside the castle, Ichigo's company_

"Now, now, what do we have here?" Neliel tu Odershvanck commented as the quartet edged nearer and nearer to their enemies' headquarters. It was unlike any structure she had seen before, even after staying in Las Noches during her life as an Arrancar. The building was definitely smaller than Aizen's castle, assuming a more square like structure. It seemed to be suspended in mid air, since there were no traces of ground anywhere near the base of the castle, which they could see from their current mid air position. Atop the castle, there were numerous human-sixed openings, all evenly spaced out along each dimension of the building. The openings were what perplexed everyone in the team, before Neliel had decided to voice their puzzlement.

"What's with that structure? It's like they are practically letting enemies in?" Ishida commented, as he adjusted his glasses near his temple. As a man who lived by principles of aesthetic, he simply could not comprehend the reason for having such a poorly built structure. Somehow, Hueco Mundo seemed much more dangerous than this world due to that single factor. And that was saying something.

"Perhaps it's for letting in air or something," Neliel commented, a finger to her chin in thought. Her eyes drifted from place to place as she scanned whether there were any oddities in the area they had just found themselves in. Luckily, there seemed to be no one around, which meant they would not be caught by surprise like they had been earlier when they were swarmed with that multitude of Hollow.

The bespectacled Quincy let out a huff as he resigned from pondering over the matter altogether, but then Sado Yasutora called out to him, "Ishida, do you think you can pinpoint Inoue's location within that huge thing? " The dark skinned man did not look at Ishida as he said this, his blood tingling with mixed feelings of anxiety and at the same time, excitement.

"The castle made be made of **SekkiSeki** stone, don't get your hopes up," Ishida commented, still, he got to trying to get a feel of Inoue's reiatsu. To his astonishment, however, he was able to feel her reiatsu perfectly, even the exact location of the castle she was in. Was it a mistake by the enemy, or perhaps, a trap? No. It certainly did not seem that way. Then again, this was a recently discovered realm, so perhaps the residents of this place had not been under siege ever since they had first taken shelter here. Perhaps this was the reason for the laxity that they were experiencing at the moment in breaching the enemy base.

Still, this meant that saving Inoue might probably be easier than they had first surmised before coming here, Ishida thought. They still had to keep up their guard. He adjusted his glasses once more as he stopped focusing on Inoue's reiatsu within the castle, shifting his focus back to his friends. "She's at the northern part of the castle. Her reiatsu still seems the same way it always is, so she's probably unharmed," the Quincy informed everyone in the team.

Ahead of them all, the orange haired Substitute Shinigami gritted his teeth. He had moved considerably quicker than the trio he was currently with, his worry over Inoue growing by the minute. While Ishida's reply just then set his heart at ease and relieved him of some of the worry he was feeling, he still could not find himself completely content with what the Quincy had said. He had to see her for himself. To touch her, and feel her warmth on his hand, in order to make sure that she was really okay. Words alone would not suffice. Grimmjow's words as they fought in Hueco Mundo a while back echoed in his mind, and he found a cold sweat threatening to break over his entire body.

"_Were you relieved to see she was unhurt, or at least looked like it? You're as naïve as they come. Maybe she got hurt on the 'inside.' "_

As these words replayed in his mind, he found his grip on his sword tightening until his hand was covered in sweat. He had to confirm her safety for himself. Without warning, or even bothering to turn back and thank the Quincy for the information he had just relayed, Ichigo took a heavy step, then amassing all the force he could in his body, churned himself forward with a great leap. There was no time to waste, and he would apologize properly to the others and allow them to meet their punishment on him as was in order. However, he needed to do this now.

There was a huge gust of wind that blew in Ishida, Nel's and Sado's location, and suddenly they were brought back to the reality of what had just occurred, as they watched Ichigo's form disappear in the distance. Nel was the first one to call out to him, although she was part sure that he would not be able to hear her, or the other two, with the distance he had just created between them.

"Wait, Ichigo!" She stretched out her hand in gesture, but soon all they could see was a glint in the distance, which most likely displayed his drawn sword. He was already far gone.

"That idiot," Ishida muttered, as he watched him separate himself from the rest of the group," the minute Inoue-san's name is uttered he charges off like a madman." Still, Ichigo had a fair idea of Inoue's current location, so there was little chance that he would get lost. In a best case scenario, he would probably manage to rescue her in the nick of time and they would head out as soon as that was done.

"Will he be okay? I mean, he doesn't need any backup in saving Inoue?" Neliel asked the two men she was currently stuck with. Her hand was placed to her chest in worry, and she shuddered to think what would happen if Ichigo encountered an enemy who was more than he could handle. The scene of a lifeless Ichigo lying on the ground after Ulquiorra brutally defeated him replayed itself in the green haired girl's mind, and she clenched her fingers tighter. For a moment, she contemplated taking on after him, and positioned her foot in order to do so. However, at that moment the Quincy spoke up again, having caught wind of what Neliel was planning to do.

"Nah, he'll be okay. I don't think he needs any of us there when he reunites with Inoue," Ishida commented, a small smirk gracing his facial features. His eyes were closed and his face was turned towards the dome, as they were now a stone's throw away from it. Sado chimed in, agreeing to the blue haired man's response," Yeah. Especially when it comes to Inoue," the dark skinned man said a small smile on his face. They would leave saving Inoue up to Ichigo, while they focused on what they could do for him in order to make sure that he won't get ambushed by a large number of enemies. Even if he had massive levels of reaitsu, there was no way he would manage handling a large number of opponents, whose strength and level of skill was still unknown.

"So for now," the Quincy said, his eyes open again and a stern expression upon his face, "what we can do is make sure that there are no enemies lying in wait in order to ambush us like back then." He then began descending towards the dome, seeing the first opening and making to dive through it. The other two looked at each other for a split second, and Neliel, noticing the calm auras emitted by Ichigo's comrades, allowed a wave of satisfaction to wash over her. If they trusted him that implicitly, it would be an insult to the orange haired boy to doubt his potential at that point. Ichigo would probably bite her head off if he got wind of the doubts she felt concerning him at the moment. Releasing her hand from her chest, she heaved a sigh of relief, and then unanimously, her and Sado took on after Ishida and dived into the dome themselves.

And with that, each of the members of Ichigo's party dispersed, each planning to face off against their own trials.

_Further outside the headquarters, Arisawa Tatsuki_

The spikey haired girl, for what seemed an eternity, continued beating on and on after each Hollow that attempted to attack her. They came from all directions, and she found it a bit hard to keep on with her current pace. After her first **Deadly Magnum**, which had only worked owing to the distance between her and her enemies back then, she resorted to her martial arts. Luckily, even with all that occurred, her black belt skills remained as sharp as ever, and she still proved with every devastating blow she landed on the enemies, she was still the strongest woman in Tokyo. However, normal martial arts weren't enough to deal with Hollow, she knew very well, so she made sure to temper each of her blows with a considerable amount of reiatsu. It worked wonders, with each blow she landed eliminating yet another Hollow that came in her path.

Even with all that, Arisawa Tatsuki was still just a human. She had not been bestowed upon powers like Inoue Orihime or Sado Yasutora, all she had was the luck of getting some of the excessive reiatsu from her childhood friend, Kurosaki Ichigo. Her reiatsu levels were probably the highest a normal human would have, and as she pounded away at what might have been the 30th Hollow, she paused for a millisecond in order to catch her breath, breathing a bit too heavily for someone who was still not even halfway done with the enemies presented before her. As the Hollow appeared in swarms again, she gritted her teeth and cursed, wondering why their numbers did not seem to be dwindling even by how little.

"_Damn! Why aren't they reducing?"_ She thought to herself, as she punched at a Hollow that attempted to make a leap for her. Her mind raced with thoughts as she tried getting a grip of the current situation, before she remembered the blue haired man that had charged on ahead in order to confront the source of this calamity.

She landed a crushing kick at the skull of one Hollow that made a grab for her with its bony hands_," What's taking Grimmjow so long?!"_ She nearly screamed in her mind. Her reiatsu levels were growing dangerously low by the minute, and she suddenly became unsure whether staying behind was a good decision after all. She was certain she was not going to be able to hold this flank for that long. A group of five Hollow appeared out of the oncoming flock, seeming to organize themselves into some weird formation as they charged towards her, and Tatsuki threw her hand back in order to prepare a **Rizer Deadly Magnum.** With the speed at which they were approaching, it would be easier and more efficient for her to prepare one of her special attacks in order to blow them all away at once. However, as she thrust her hands forward for a devastating fiery attack, suddenly the whole world seemed to go blurry.

The Hollows now seemed twice their actual amount as they proceeded towards her, and weakly, like a leaf in the wind, her arm fell limply at her side. _Damn! I misjudged my reiatsu! _ She cursed again, as she tried to summon one last burst of energy from her body. It didn't work. All the energy seemed to have dissipated from her limbs, and numbly, her body began falling backwards into the abyss behind her. One of her eyes shut involuntarily, and with her now remaining open eye, she could faintly see the swarm of Hollow enveloping her. She faintly became aware of the feel of several hands pulling at her from all directions, seeming as if they were about to tear her apart, and then at that point, her second eye began shutting itself of its own accord, as she resigned to her fate.

"Sorry, Ichigo," she thought, a final thought as she was about to succumb to the swarm of incoming Hollow. She had promised to survive, to meet up with the orange haired boy and her best friend once all this was done, but now, all that seemed to be a fleeting dream. The first Hollow made a bite for her left hand, and then….

"**Smash, Haguro Tonbo!**

As suddenly as they had all engulfed in the area around Arisawa Tatsuki, the Hollow all vanished in one instant. There was a huge gust of wind, and Tatsuki felt her body being carried by the air pressure. For a moment she thought she would be carried off into the unknown, but then, she felt herself being caught by a soft pair of arms. Weakly, she opened her eyes to find herself staring at a pair of turquoise eyes, which were set behind a pair of red oval glasses.

The mysterious bespectacled girl shot a small smile at Tatsuki. "Need any help?"

A long way downwards from where the two girls were currently located, a visibly excited Grimmjow Jeagerjacques made his way downward as he descended to the pits of the realm, his blood boiling at the prospect of having to face off against someone extraordinarily strong. His mouth was etched into a wide open grin, and as he fought past the air pressure and the oncoming gust of wind. Suddenly, he saw the silhouette of someone a few paces away from him, who had one hand outstretched before him. He seemed to be controlling, or summoning something, owing to the completely still posture he had assumed. _Bingo,_ the blue haired man thought. There was the one who had been throwing these entire Hollow in their path earlier. Well, not that it mattered anyway to Grimmjow, since the man would be dead in a few minutes anyway. He kicked at the air behind him, and then made a direct charge towards the man.

"Found you!" Grimmjow nearly shouted, his voice displaying the enthusiasm he was experiencing at that moment.

Primra, who was still in the process of calling forth the Hollow with his reaitsu, was now aware of the presence of a second person next to the girl he was attempting to overwhelm earlier. The second person seemed to hold a decent amount of reiatsu, so a horde of Hollow that massive would probably mean nothing to her. While he was contemplating heading upwards in order to face the threat head on, he was thrown back into the reality of the matter owing to the sudden increase in reaitsu that was heading towards him. The man, a bit perplexed, as he raised an eyebrow, drew back his hand, and then calmly, took one step sideways. Just in time, he realized, as there was a resounding crash on the area he was currently standing on, with it a whole cloud of reishi particles being thrown into the air.

There was an interval of silence, as Primra tried to make light of the situation that had just presented itself before him. The reishi particles that had been scattered into the air owing to his assailant's immediate entry all dispersed into the space before him and his assailant, and then, the man became aware of the hole near the blue haired man's waist line. His eyes widened in surprise, as he certainly did not expect to meet one of his kinds after he had deserted Hueco Mundo a while back.

"You…that wide-scale blast earlier…it were your doing?" Primra asked the blue haired man, who still had his eyes looking towards the ground he had just crashed into. Slowly, Grimmjow began turning his head in order to look at his opponent. "Who knows?" He expressed in his hearty voice, but then, he was shocked as he noticed the hole on Primra's chest. It was eerily similar to his, something which caught him completely by shock.

"You're…a Hollow?" He muttered absently to no one specific, as his eyes still displayed disbelief.

**A/N: **I hope you all enjoyed this chapter. Make sure you remember all the names of the opponents since well they are the antagonists this time right now for Ichi-nii and his friends!

Don't forget to review, favorite and share this story with others. Also be sure to check out my other stories.


	11. The Old and The New

**Chapter 11**

**The Old and the New**

_Grimmjow_

To say that he was astonished would be an overstatement for the blue haired man. True enough, he was quite appalled at having met someone like the man before him at the moment, but still, it did not shock him entirely to send his mind reeling and avert his attention from the situation at hand.

"Who the hell are you?" The 6th Espada asked in a slightly befuddled manner. His gaze was currently pursed low, regarding the man before him in a gaze filled with malice.

Primra's eyes slowly turned to look at the man beside him, along with his head, finally making light of the situation before him. His earlier surprise had all dissipated, and he had all but dropped his earlier action of sending a vast group of Hollow to attack the human girl that had decided to stay behind to deal with them.

A faint smirk appeared on his face, "Surely this isn't your first time seeing another Hollow, right?" Of course, it was Primra's first time seeing another like him, but something in his gut told him that the blue haired man had seen more of his own kind.

Grimmjow mirrored the expression on his fellow Hollow's visage at the moment, replying with a smug tone this time," You're right. But, owing to your appearance, and the sword strapped at your waist, you aren't a normal Hollow, right?"

This time, a shadow of a smile crossed the man standing opposite across him in the vicinity, and he responded in kind," My name is Primra. Formerly of Lord Barragan's army in Hueco Mundo."

Grimmjow tilted his head slightly to the side in confusion this time, clearly a bit thrown back by Primra's sudden declaration. It wasn't something he had expected in all its entirety, but his counterpart had no reason to lie to him in such a situation, so the blue haired man decided to give him the benefit of the doubt," Barragan? That old geezer? He kicked the bucket quite a while before."

Primra closed his eyes momentarily, however, his senses were still as sharp as he had always kept them, "True, but if you think that's the reason I'm here right now, I'm afraid you're sorely mistaken on that account."

"Heeeh , I see, well, it seems as if someone seems to have strayed too away from home. What, Hueco Mundo was too boring for you or something?" Grimmjow asked, his hands currently in his pockets. Somehow, the strange Hollow before him had managed to pique his curiosity.

Primra still had his eyes closed as he continued engaging in the conversation with the man before him," Hmm, where does the story start? Let's see, I'll first start by telling you about how it all started. When the shinigami known as Aizen Sousuke came and took on Hueco Mundo as his own territory, Barragan was clearly displeased, as were some of his Hollows. The displeased ones staged a rebellion, hoping that they would manage to kick out the Human who had pried upon our territory and successfully restore the true King, but alas, we were proved powerless before the might of the Shinigami. Many of us were eliminated, the ones who were unlucky to cross swords with them. A few others, of course, such as Tier Harribel, Nnoitra Jiruga, Neliel Tu Odershvank and Szayel Aporro Grantz decided to submit, so they were taken in Aizen's new army. Someone like me, who was not foolish enough to resist openly, or cowardly enough to submit to the stronger force of the Soul Reapers that were upon us, decided to flee Hueco Mundo. Originally I thought I would hide out in some area of the Human World, but while I was travelling through in the Garganta, I came across this place."

Opening his eyes to signify the end of his tale, Primra refocused his gaze on his soon-to-be opponent, and was slightly dismayed to find out that he had made no attempt to move from his original spot. He had half expected Grimmjow to find an opportunity to attack him by thinking he was not paying attention, so realizing that the blue haired man was curious enough to listen till the end of his tale came as a disappointment to the man. Still, it didn't prove as much of a deterrent, so he decided to pay attention to any moment that Grmmjow would take to attack him.

Funny enough, Grimmjow had a bored expression on his face at the moment. He was not exactly particularly impressed with Primra's story, since he was there at that moment as well when the Realm was under siege by vastly superior powers, although at the time he was just an Adjuchas who had no fealty to anyone. He had been minding his own business in the deserted fields along with his comrades, who were going to be part of his Fraccion in future. The siege had done nothing to interfere with his day to day life, although that was only till the moment when his Fraccion had laid to him the suggestion of becoming stronger in order to go join Aizen's army, where he would no doubt find other stronger people like him.

"Hueco Mundo is free territory right now. You should be able to go back anytime you feel like," he said in a nonchalant manner, rubbing his ear slightly with his thumb. He was nearly at the edge of boredom, he realized, and was poised to launch an attack any moment at the foe before him. Originally, Grimmjow had thought the man to prove quite troublesome due to his Hollow Summoning ability, but being in close proximity with him like this gave him a rough measure of the adversary's strength. His reiatsu was quite subdued, for someone of his stature, so Grimmjow realized that this fight would probably not take such a very long time, if all his assumptions held true.

The adversary glanced to the side a little, staring into the nothingness that stretched out before his eyes, before continuing, "True enough, I had considered the option when I heard of Aizen Sousuke's demise, but then again, what we are about to accomplish is something that will make Hueco Mundo seem like a pipe dream. I can guarantee it."

Grimmjow prodded at his ear once more, still in the same disinterested demeanor he had assumed for a while now, "I have no particular interest in this 'accomplishment' of yours or whatever, but then again, I can swear that I knew someone like you who was talking about his dreams a while back. Well, things did not work out too well for him."

A shadow of a scowl crossed Primra's face, but he did his best not to make it evident that Grimmjow's taunt just then had gotten to him a little. Luckily enough, Grimmjow missed it, or even if he had seen it, did not give away any hints that he had caught on to that. Clearing his throat, he replied in a curt manner, "Aizen Sousuke-

"-is gone," Grimmjow interrupted him impromptu, this time focusing his gaze on the man seated opposite across him in the room. He was nearly at the edge of his patience with the man before him, originally thinking that he could have turned out to be an interesting fellow upon first learning he was an Arrancar like him. His first impressions had been proven entirely wrong however, so he was almost ready to put an end to the conversation he had been unwittingly engrossed in.

"And you'll be joining him in a few minutes," the blue haired man concluded his sentence, placing his hands ahead of him in a combat pose.

A moment of silence elapsed, before Grimmjow spoke up once again; breaking the slight tension that had taken hold of the atmosphere," Tell me one thing."

"What?"

"I've more or less caught on to the fact that you're a former Espada, or a Privaron Espada for that account. What was your number?"

Primra was befuddled by Grimmjow's out of field question. He did not quite understand what the blue haired man was getting at with his latest question.

"Why does it matter?" He asked, tilting his head to the side.

Grimmjow gritted his teeth in a menacing manner," I want to confirm something." The tone of his voice just then mirrored his facial expression just then.

"4," The Arrancar responded in an unsure tone, and his hand travelled to the sword strapped at his waist.

A laugh erupted from Grimmjow's mouth. He looked skyward, and laughed, a high pitched laugh, much like the way he laughed when Kurosaki Ichigo had dorned his Hollow Mask in their final battle. Placing a hand over his eyes, he contemplated his luck over finding someone with a number he hated so much, since he joined Aizen's army.

**Freeze, Yukitora.**

The words came out in a low tone, and a fraction of a second later, the blue haired man was encased in ice. He was still looking skyward in his new frozen form, his mouth still wide agape, although there was no sound that came from it this time.

Behind him, Primra had all but assumed a new form. His body, which was hairless beforehand, was now covered in snow white fur, and his front teeth had grown elongated to the size of fangs. The fur was striped in the area around his torso, and also the area above his eyes. On his hands, his finger nails had also increased in size, growing to the size of claws, and there was a sliver of mist originating from his right hand. It was the hand that he had used to strike Grimmjow earlier, rendering the man frozen and unable to move, effectively ending the bout.

Glancing back from the corner of his right eye, he focused on his now defeated opponent, "You shouldn't be confident enough to laugh in battle you know, unless you're well assured of your victory."

He had known, for a while now, that Grimmjow was going to surprise him any moment with any attack, but he was not going to give him any leeway for that. Shifting his gaze away from his fallen foe, Primra began walking away and back to the castle, where he would assist his newfound comrades in taking down the opponents that had happened upon him.

At that moment, however, while he was still basking in his victory, he heard a voice speaking up from behind him.

"No, I just realized that this must be some sort of weird coincidence. See, I've always hated the number 4, considering my relationship with the previous Number 4 Espada, Ulquiorra Schiffer. And here you are before me."

Primra only had a moment to glance back, catching a glimpse of shards of ice falling to the ground before him, when a sharp pain crossed through his abdomen.

Grimmjow stabbed the former number 4 Espada with his hand, grinning ever so maliciously as he twisted his hands through his inner organs. Focusing reiatsu on his now outstretched hand inside Primra's body, he chanted.

**Gran Rey Cero.**

The blue wave of reiatsu coursed through Primra's body, and the air shuddered with a ripping sound. Moments later, the collapsing body of the Arrancar fell to the ground, a hole now ripped through him, releasing wisps of smoke into the air in front of Grimmjow.

The blue haired man looked at the falling form of his enemy, and cursed slowly underneath his breath.

"But, that wasn't enough to take you down, right?" He said, now turning to look behind him where Primra stood, unscathed. He was still in his **Resurreccion **form, and he looked at Grimmjow in a puzzling manner.

"I'm surprised you noticed it. You're the first person to see through my **Gemelos Sonido** on its first use," the Privaron Espada said, in a displeased tone. Truth be told, he had not expected Grimmjow to force him to use his Sonido to escape his attack, but what surprised him more was how the blue haired man had escaped his earlier attack. In his **Snow Tiger** form, anything that his claws touched froze instantly.

"You, just how you escaped my earlier attack?" he asked, growing displeased with every passing second.

Grimmjow grinned, and a millisecond later, he had disappeared from his initial position. Primra outstretched his claws before him, luckily enough, because Grimmjow descended upon him moments later, his sword clashing on Primra's claws. Sparks went into the air from the point of contact of the two attacks.

Bearing down on the Privaron Espada with the weight of his sword and also his reiatsu, growing heavier with each passing second, Grimmjow responded, "The guy just below me in the ranks had a trick just like yours. I saw it a few times in Las Noches, so it isn't a first time for me. " Stretching out his hand below him, this time focusing a mass of red reiatsu on it, he added, " And as to your second question, just freezing the top layer of my skin isn't enough!"

With that tone of finality, Grimmjow released the **Cero **he was preparing on his hand, and again, the air shuddered with a ripping sound. Of course, the blue haired man did not expect this trick to work, just like with the first time. Especially since this time he had given Primra all the distance he needed to dodge his attack.

Leaping out of the way for a moment, Grimmjow effectively evaded a descending attack that would have proved troublesome in case it had hit him. There was a resounding crash owing to Primra's attack, and the Privaron Espada proceeded to leap towards the evading man after his initial attack had failed.

Pressuring him with relentless attacks from his claws, Grimmjow realized that he had slightly underestimated his opponent. A wave of excitement coursed through him as he surmised that this would not be such a dull battle after all.

_Bastard, he was intending to rip me in half with that earlier attack. Heeh…_

The Sixth Espada parried each and every attack that came his way, making sure that none of the claws reached him. He could feel the Privaron Espada's killing intent increase with each blow he aimed at him, and likewise, his own growing sense of excitement was increasing as well.

Still, it would not do for him to continuously stay on the defensive like this. The blue haired man placed a foot ahead of him, kicking him on his abdomen with enough force to throw him back. Primra's attacks halted momentarily, his body arching backwards as he felt the wind slightly knocked out of him. Realizing that this would give Grimmjow the opening he needed to launch a counterattack, something that would be in his disadvantage at the moment, Primra immediately moved to steady his body, but he was a moment too late.

**Grind, Pantera!**

There was a huge burst of reiatsu from in front of the Privaron Espada, and a tremendous gust of wind that caused the reiatsu particles in the air to go up in a flurry. Primra held his hands in front of his face to protect his body from the reiatsu that threatened to blow him away, but it came to pass shortly afterwards. What emerged from the area before Primra, was nothing like the man he had been dueling with moments before. It was something more feline and predatory.

Grimmjow, now in his **Resurreccion **form, released a Sonic Wave, holding the same power as his initial surge of reiatsu. Primra steadied himself on the ground with his claw like feet, resolving not to even let loose for a moment. Pressing his now enhanced feet, in the shape of paws that were jet black in color, on the ground behind him, Grimmjow pounced on his opponent, who was still in a daze. Primra's eyes widened, tightening his grip on the ground, as he brought his claws before him, grasping Grimmjow's black claws that threatened to tear the head off his shoulders.

Grimmjow's momentum was stopped, but this did not parry him, as with his now free hand, he attempted to rip through Primra's torso. The Privaron Espada saw through this as well, this time raising one of his legs that were rooted to the ground before, and kicking away Grimmjow's arm. Grimmjow grunted a little from the pain that shot through his body, but nothing would have prepared him for what was about to happen ext.

Primra tightened his grip on Grimmjow's arm, sending another bolt of pain though the Espada's arm, but a moment later a chilling sensation went through Grimmjow's arm. Looking in slight shock at it as he tried to pry it effortlessly from Primra's grip, he realized that his arm was slowly becoming encased in ice. Letting out a low guttural sound from his mouth, he sensed a mass of reiatsu gathering from in front of him, and realized that a Cero was about to be sent in his direction point blank from Primra's now open mouth. From the position he was currently in, Grimmjow could see the fangs in his opponent's mouth.

**Cero.**

The word came out at a frightening pace, just before a white mass of reiatsu erupted from the Privaron Espada's agape palate. Grimmjow was allowed only a moment of reprive, before the mass of reiatsu enveloped him. There was a chilling sound in the air, and when the tempest had gone down, a trail of ice lead from the Arrancar's mouth, stretching out quite a distance. Primra closed his outstretched mouth, from where the Cero with ice properties had come from, and realized that the arm that had been in his grip moments earlier had fallen limp. A faint smile crossed his mouth as he came to the conclusion that Grimmjow had been frozen solid in the earlier torrent of ice, which he should not have had enough time to dodge owing to the point blank attack.

As he released the hand to fall limply to the ground beside the now frozen body, Primra was just about to get out of his Resurrecion form, as he was already considerably tired from a battle that had gone on longer than he had initially anticipated. However, his eyebrow arched wide open as he was enveloping himself in the familiar light that signified going back to his initial Hollow form, and he immediately leaped into the air, creating quite a distance between him and Grimmjow.

It wasn't enough.

**Garra De La Pantera.**

There was a sound of ejection, and five acutely shaped bombs emerged in the air in front of Primra. Both his eyes widened as he realized that the bombs were slowly closing in on him, five of them in total, no matter how much he increased the distance between him and the blue haired man. From the distance he was currently in, he tried peering out to see whether Grimmjow was lodged in the ice column he had summoned earlier, but unluckily he was at a distance where he could not see anything other than a white silhouette. Cursing silently under his breath, he went skyward, hoping that the bombs would continue veering in their current direction.

To his horror, however, the bombs followed him even as he ascended into the space above him. A small gasp escaped his lips, as he came to the conclusion that the bombs were homing. Unless he did something soon, he would be in for a world of pain.

Stretching out his hands before him, Primra clawed the air in two sweeping strokes, and from the point of point of contact with his claws, ten arcs of ice were formed. The ice figures descended upon the incoming bombs, and a minute later, there was a resounding crash as both powers from both Arrancar clashed in mid-air.

Realizing that his counterattack proved effective enough to parry what he thought was a last minute attack from the Sixth Espada, the Privaron Espada heaved a sigh of relief as he prepared to descend to the ground below him, where he would soon be on his way to the rest of his comrades. His body was slowly going downward, when he heard another sound again, this time, a sound of something ripping through the air much like his earlier attack. He was only allowed a moment of reprieve, looking behind him where the sound had come from, and he caught a brief flash of blue, before a sharp feeling of pain pierced into his back.

Grimmjow sank his claws into his opponent horizontally, a grin appearing on his face when he realized that he had drawn blood owing to the wet feeling that appeared on his hand. His earlier intuition that the Arrancar's Hierro wasn't as tough as his was proven right, and as his opponent fell to the ground chanting a flurry of curses, Grimmjow's paws glow a bright shade of blue. The air around him shook a little as ten long blades of blue appeared a second later to both his sides. A few paces below him, Primra had managed to steady himself in his downward motion, now in a position where he was looking upward at the man who was looming over him. Trying his level best to prepare an attack of his own as he became aware of the imminent danger he was in, he realized that it was a futile attempt since the gash Grimmjow had given him on his back was too deep that he couldn't focus well. He could still muster the energy to talk however, and in a voice seething with anger, he shouted at his opponent,

"How did you survive my Cero earlier?! I'm sure the attack hit you! Why are you here right now?!"

The words tumbled out on top of one another, and with a tinge of regret, Primra realized that he had no way to dodge the attack that was now slowly bearing on him.

Grimmjow smirked.

"Fine then, I'll do you a special favor and tell you. In my Resurreccion form, my Hierro is much tougher than in my original form, so merely increasing the volume of Ice in your attacks isn't enough to overpower me. I was able to escape your attack, albeit with much more difficult than with your first attack. If you want to properly defeat me with ice, you'll have to freeze my inner organs or freeze my head then lop it off," Grimmjow said in a condescending manner, and after registering the look of resignation on his opponent's face muddled with realization, he let loose his final attack.

**Desgarron.**

The blades of reaitsu closed the distance with their prey and upon contact with him, tore through his body in all directions. There was a howl of pain, followed by tenure of silence, before the segments of Primra's body that had not been torn through cleanly dissipated into reiatsu particles, melding with the air full of reaitsu particles around Grimmjow.

**A/N: **Well, first allow me to apologize for the really lengthy delay in posting this update. A lot of stuff has happened, and well, I don't get as much free time as I used to in the past, so well, I have to make do with the little time I have. Still, rest assured, I have no intentions of dropping this story, so well you'll be seeing it through till the end.

On another note, I hope this fight turned out okay. It was the first fight with the new opponents I've brought in this story and who else other than Grimmjow to take him on! Leave a review and tell me if it went all okay. Till next time then, Ciao!

'_They say you have to love yourself before loving someone else.'_

_Bullshit!_

_I have never loved myself._

_But you, oh God, I loved you so much,_

_I forgot what hating myself felt like._


	12. Loyalties

**Chapter 12**

**Loyalties**

Neliel tu Oderschvank was currently walking at her own pace in the path that she had chosen inside the castle, her footsteps releasing soft sounds as they tapped on the surface of the floor. When she had first stumbled inside the castle, she had thought that the inside of the castle would be a labyrinth of sorts and there would be traps laid at every corner of the dome, but surprisingly, nothing out of the ordinary had sprung up yet. It was quite unnerving at first, but the green haired girl figured that it was better than having to be on guard everywhere where she walked.

For a long time now she had not come upon any anomalies in the structure, is it allies or enemies of any sort. Each room that she had stumbled into either by accident or intentionally had been desolate, with no signs of any persons being there before, something that she found quite worrisome. Had she taken a wrong turn somewhere?

She placed both hands over her mouth, and for the umpteenth time ever since she had entered the castle, called out the name of the auburn haired girl. Alas, as had happened before and as she had half expected to happen this time as well, there was no response from the girl, or even much less anyone else who would have happened to be in the vicinity for that matter. She remembered that Ishida had earlier told Ichigo where the girl was located, and that calling her out here would probably bear no fruits, but a small part of her wished that she would find the girl first. The look on Ichigo's face when that happened would definitely be priceless, and that would be worth the effort, but she realized that it was okay even if Ichigo got to her first.

Her latest attempt to call out to Inoue puzzled her for a number of reasons, and slowly, she began coming to the conclusion that her earlier fears and assertions might have been wrong; she had taken a wrong path somewhere. Placing both hands on her waist, she sneered a little, before saying to herself.

"Ah, this is tiring! Nothing to it then than to go and join Ichigo," She smiled a little and giggled as she pictured what Ichigo's expression would be if she stumbled upon him in his path. Perhaps he would flip out and blow a fuse like he had when she had done the same thing to him in Hueco Mundo! Now that would be something.

She giggled a little. Her decision was now set, and all that she had to do now WAS locate the orange haired boy. That was all well and dandy, of course, but….

"Calling out someone's name and drawing attention to yourself in the enemy base, you must be one hell of an idiot, or one hell of a daredevil."

The voice spoke up from behind the green haired girl, slightly taking her aback as she had not picked up on the signal of anyone in the area around her. She turned back to look at the person who had talked to her, already bearing the notion that it was a woman from the tone and nature of the voice.

"Now then, I wonder which of those you are."

The green haired girl smiled grimly," Really now? I would say the same of you. Just now I wasn't paying attention to my surroundings. You could have taken the chance to attack me, no?" As she said this, she took the chance to assess the woman who had shown up out of the blue to catch Nel off guard.

Rier was currently seated on the floor with both her legs crossed, and her head was rested at the pillar that was behind her, supported by both her arms. Despite her unusual relaxed nature at the moment, however, that wasn't what really bothered Neliel about the woman.

Her perplexed expression about Rier must have shown on her face, as the messy haired woman spoke up again, in the same silky tone that she had used earlier," What's wrong, cat got your tongue?" She ignored Nel's retort from earlier, choosing to change the subject to something more of her liking," Surprised that a Shinigami is part of the enemy group, Hollow girl?" At first glance, it wasn't easy to tell whether Neliel was a Hollow or not, as there was no hole on any visible part of her body, but then again the skull atop her head did speak volumes regarding what species she was.

Fortunately or unfortunately, Nel was able to see through the girl's jape, and she found it slightly amusing. She smirked before responding," Clever, but I guess I can't really say much about it since I'm a Hollow helping out a Shinigami, right?"

Rier smiled a little, bobbing her head to the side in turn as she regarded Nel a little bit closer. "Well, well, well, don't we have a witty one here now?"

From that remark just then, Neliel could not tell whether or not the girl was being sarcastic or honest with her, as she had been burning hot and cold for quite a while now ever since she had made Nel's acquaintance, so she decided to just downplay that remark.

"I guess that means that both of us are both fools, right?"The Death Reaper said in a tone that indicated she was done about conversing. Once the last word had left her palate, she slowly got up from where she was standing, and began stretching out her limbs out a little. You would have thought that she had just gotten up from quite the nap, although that may have not been entirely false as there were small bags underneath her eyes, and her clothes looked a little riff raff now that Nel got a better look at the woman. It was quite a curious sight, in a place like this she figured that there would be more….._serious_ looking antagonists.

"You know, all this could have been avoided if you guys didn't interrupt my sleep," Rier said, as she lowered her body behind her as if reaching out for something. This blocked Nel's vision, and for a moment, Nel wondered just what she was doing, but the woman soon came up with a sheathed sword. The sheath in question was purple, and had a dark ribbon at the end where it gave way to the hilt of the sword. The ribbon was split into two and it dangled freely from the edge.

"Funny that, I wouldn't have had to run into you under these circumstances if you guys didn't kidnap my friend," Neliel retorted, realizing where the situation had been leasing to. She was right though, she did not particularly love the fact that Inoue had been whisked away from the company of Ichigo and his friends, but more than that, she was just glad that she had the chance to be of help to the orange haired lad. She had always been grateful to him for what he did for her in Hueco Mundo, and felt that she had not quite repaid him for that even after all this time. It had been inevitable all this time, she surmised, but even so getting to this point had taken quite a while.

She held her sword loosely at her side before continuing, "What, you weren't going to attack me? And even after I gave you that sweet opening," She said, her voice dripping with amusement. Neliel did not need to be told what opening she was referring to; after all she had all been privy to the moment when the woman leisurely reached for her sword that had been lying on the ground beside her, but more than that she had been watching her warily to see if she was going to make any funny movements. It turned out that her slight fears were proven wrong, but even then that didn't mean that she had the luxury to relax. Things seemed as if they were about to be set in motion.

The green haired woman reached behind her back with her left hand, sneering a little at the messy haired woman as she did so. "No way, I wouldn't dream of not returning the favor, now would I? That would be flat out rude."

There was a soft clank resulting from a sheath dropping to the ground, and the next thing that followed were sparks as the vacant area in the middle of the vicinity was suddenly occupied by the two girls. Their swords were drawn and they were currently in contact with each other, each of their wielders attempting to get the upper hand as they both pressed on their weapons with their respective weights and strengths.

"What's this? You're surprisingly fast. I thought you were slower owing to how droopy your eyes looked," Nel said, from one side of the collision. She parried a sword slash from her adversary, before attempting to land a kick on her abdomen.

The Shinigami moved to the side swiftly, and Nel's kick swung at nothing, before she quickly found herself on the receiving end of a sword that was aiming for her face. Of course, Nel was able to see through this attack as the Soul Reaper had seen through her earlier kick, and casually the Hollow brought up her hand to parry the attack. From the way her adversary had chosen to attack her by using her sword directly without tempering it with reiatsu or an attack of any kind, Nel figured that she did not know anything regarding **Hierro, **something that would definitely work to her advantage in this fight.

As the sword swiftly made its way to Neliel's arm, however, the green haired girl immediately sensed something was wrong, and quickly decided against defending the attack with her bare arm. She quickly arched her arm back, and moved a few feet away from her opponent, increasing the distance between the two of them once more.

Rier noticed that she had swung at mid air, and proceeded to draw her sword back, before averting her gaze to the green haired girl once more. "Clever."

The Arrancar casr a wary glance at the Soul Reaper's direction, her breaths a bit quickened from her hasty action at the last minute back then. There was a trickle of sweat on her brow, and she swiped at it lazily with one of her arms. Despite all this however, she wasn't quite as generous as to let her opponent know that she had indeed unnerved her, so she decided to address something that had been triggering her curiosity for a while now. It would be a nice change of pace.

"Actually, thinking about it now, I can't stop wondering how on earth a Soul Reaper like you strayed so far from Soul Society," Neliel started, and wondered if Rier would buy into what she had said. It wasn't really something important, but she was genuinely curious now that she pondered over it. Even if the girl before her was an enemy she had to battle, she could not help but take note that in some way, she and the Soul Reaper were alike. Not that she liked any part of it though.

The Soul Reaper drew out her sword before her in a horizontal fashion; in a pose that Neliel was unaware of but still knew posed a lot of danger. The Zanpakuto gleamed dangerously for a while before it all disappeared at once, and the next thing Nel knew the woman was already inches away from her face, her sword aimed at her chest. This time, unlike the last time she had been on the receiving end of an attack, Nel was well prepared to block the attack. She ducked, getting out of the sword's range for a split second, and before Rier could readjust herself in time and poise herself for the next attack, Nel managed to make a well timed attack, swiping at her adversary's legs with her own, putting as much force as she could in the attack.

It worked.

The girl lost her footing, toppling over Nel's foot and was heading for a one way crash course for the ground just as Nel was coming up with her fist, well aimed at the girl's mid section.

There were not going to be anymore second chances this time, as Nel's attack was blocked by the receiving girl's own arm, capturing Nel's fist in her own arm. Her grip was surprisingly strong, and Nel was about to shake out of the grasp, before she decided against it and tried attacking her with her second arm, as she readjusted herself from the current position she was in above the ground.

Unfortunately, this attack was also doomed to fail as the one before it had, as Rier skillfully turned her body sideways in midair, using Nel's arm that she still had in her grasp as a pivot and aiming a kick at the green haired girl's face, after dodging the assault from earlier. Deftly, the Arrancar arched her head backwards, narrowly dodging the kick and she felt the gust of air that had arisen from it. She wasn't quite done yet, as she proceeded to draw her sword from where she had suspended it at her back, and proceeded to aim at the Soul Reaper's midsection once more, fully intending to bifurcate her in half.

Seeing that there was no other way she could dodge, Rier was forced to release Nel's arm that she still had in her grip in an attempt not to let the girl escape and force a close quarters battle. Once she released the arm, she was able to leap backwards a few feet away from the assaulting girl.

It wasn't quite enough.

Neliel smiled, as she lowered her sword from where she had it raised before. "Too short."

Blood trickled to the ground freely releasing a few soft _splats, _the trail of blood drops giving off a trail to where the Soul Reaper was crouched on the ground a few meters away. There was a small diagonal tear in her shihakusho that Nel saw when she managed to steady herself upwards, and Nel could see the blood from the cut oozing freely and staining the area around the robes.

"You think? I thought you were aiming to sever me in half?" Rier said, as soon as she had managed to stand properly, and arched her head back and forth in order to rid the ache from her muscles. The injury had come as a bit of a surprise to her, as she had figured that she had managed to leap out of the way in time, but it seemed that she had completely misjudged Neliel's attack just then and been too lax in the retreat. Well, she figured that as long as she could still move and hold a sword, it wasn't too much of a setback to her.

"Oh, I will. The next time my sword touches you." Nel retorted, casually swinging her sword to the side and shaking off the blood that had settled on there from her last attack.

"Well, well, well, now I can't have that, can I?"The Shinigami responded; as she swiped away the blood from her wound in one go. She refocused her gaze on Neliel, who did not seem too intent on launching the first attack this time. Perhaps she was trying to assess her opponent? Either way, it didn't matter much to her but at that moment something resurfaced in her mind and she thought it the opportune moment to address it.

"And regarding your earlier question, you wanted to know what a Shinigami was doing in a rundown place like this, yes?" Rier continued, catching Neliel completely by surprise. She arched her eyebrows wide open, and realized that the woman had indeed taken the earlier inquiry into consideration. Still, the fact that the woman was deciding to invoke to her information like this seemed overly suspicious, and Nel could not shake the funny feeling in her gut regarding the matter.

"Wait, why did you decide to tell me?"

"There's no harm in telling an opponent who's going to kick the bucket soon, is there?" These words were said with a surprisingly icy tone, a complete contrast to how the Soul Reaper had been talking the entire time.

Nel chose to ignore the dark jape, but nonetheless she said nothing more, as the woman began to unfold her story," Back when I was in Soul Society, I used to be in 11th Squad, the one under Kenpachi. Being allied with the Shinigami at the moment, you should have a general idea of some of the divisions that Soul Society has." The name rang a bell in Neliel's memory, and she vaguely remembered that Ichigo had called the Captain that had come to his rescue when he was being crushed by Tesla 'Kenpachi.' There was that, plus when Aizen had gathered them together for the first time, he had informed them about the organization of Soul Society, plus also letting it out that he was the Captain of the 5th Squad.

"I was the Vice Captain in the Squad at that time."

Well, Neliel certainly hadn't expected that. The last she saw of the Vice Captain, it was the small pink haired girl who was resting on Zaraki Kenpachi's shoulder as he disembarked at Hueco Mundo, plus she was also watching the fight between her Captain and Nnoitra from a distance.

"It was a time before the current Captain assumed leadership of the Squad. Simply put, Zaraki Kenpachi killed my captain then, so I had no choice but to desert my Squad. There was no way I could imagine serving under any other Captain, and there was no way I could forgive the man who killed my Captain."

Rier then turned her focus back to her sword," Well, it's not like I expect you to care or anything. So instead I'll ask you this, why would a Hollow as powerful as you choose to side with the Soul Reapers? It doesn't make any sense to me at all. With your abilities you would do extraordinarily well in Hueco Mundo, even thriving well by yourself. It makes absolutely no sense to me."

All while she was asking Nel this, the green haired woman was pandering over the girl's history that she had just heard. As Rier had said, she did not exactly have the luxury of sympathizing with her opponent, she wasn't that naïve. Yet, she found herself understanding the girl on a particular level, since she also had her home stolen from her and was forced to be on her own for a while. If she was allowed to place her own bets, she had a feeling that after wandering for her own for a while; she had finally found a place where she belongs, and that was where Nel was currently.

It was quite the tear jerker, Nel had to admit, but despite that, she had her reasons for coming here as well, and she wasn't about to let them be watered down.

She cast her gaze towards the Soul Reaper once more and responded," There's something I don't want you to misunderstand about this entire situation. I'm not exactly helping the Shinigami here." That raised an eyebrow, but Neliel continued, feeling her resolve strengthen in her," To me, all Shinigami are the same, but…._he's_ different." Just then, all the memories of her and Ichigo and the time they had spent together in Hueco Mundo came to her, and Neliel felt a sudden surge of affection for the orange haired boy.

"I came here to help him. Because Inoue is his friend, and that's good enough reason for me to help him as well."

As with Nel, Rier was also perplexed at the Arrancar's story, but she also realized how in a way, they were similar. It was sort of soothing, now that she pondered over it, but that meant that there was nothing that was holding her back anymore in this battle. Truth be told, she had her reservations in the beginning and she had the stray thought that maybe, just maybe there was a chance she would forego this battle, but her loyalties to her team were more important and much stronger.

"Hey, did you know?"

Neliel perked her head up, and noticed the reiatsu that was emanating from the woman. It tickled the hairs at her neck a little, and she found herself unsheathing her sword as she braced herself for the worst.

"We in the 11th Squad rely on physical type Zanpakuto. So my sword doesn't exactly have any fancy abilities like ice or fire."

That explained the strange feeling that Nel had felt earlier when the woman first swung her sword at her face and she had raised her hand to defend. If what she feared was true, then this meant that at the very least her Hierro would have been pierced clean through and the sword would have inflicted a deep cut on her hand. Throughout the short course of this battle, Neliel had not sustained any injuries yet, which she was thankful for, but things did not seem that they would stay that way for long.

Regarding what the woman had just divulged just then, Neliel had faint to no knowledge regarding this particular aspect, but then again, which did explain why Zaraki Kenpachi did not use any abilities of any sort in his fight with Nnoitra. At first Neliel had thought it a ridiculous notion to fight the 5th Espada with nothing but a bare sword, but astonishingly enough, the eye patch wearing man had delivered, and had even emerged on top in the entire battle.

"Yeah, I've seen more or less of the same thing. What about it?"

**Harden: Shouseki** _(Crystal Stone)_

The command had come as abruptly as that, and just like that, Neliel had already completely drawn out her sword and was brandishing it in front of her, ready for anything and everything that was about to happen.

Rier took a step forward, her glance cast downwards and her messy hair covering her eyes, so that Neliel could not register her facial expression at the moment. Another step and her sword were scraping against the ground below her, releasing small sparks at the point of impact. From what Neliel could see, the sword itself had not quite changed much, apart from the layer of clear substance that now lay on top of the blade. The clear unknown substance looked even upon the sword, giving it a look of refinement, but there was something about that which unnerved Nel completely. She took a step back and held out her sword before her with both her hands.

"My sword is the hardest sword in all of Soul Society. Oops, or should I say was?"

She disappeared.

The next thing Neliel knew, she was flying away at quite the speed, and her stance was broken as she found herself holding to her sword with one hand. Her arms were quite stiff and nearly felt numb, and for a moment she was afraid that her shoulders had been dislocated. Her vision was a little disjointed at first, and once she readjusted it, she saw the Soul Reaper ahead of her for an instant, standing in the position that she was in before. Ah, now things made sense, in a split second, she was attacked, and even if she managed to block the attack, it was not as strong a block as she had hoped.

Her short lived flight came to a stop quite the distance from Rier, and the pain as her back and limbs grazed the ground stung quite a bit. The ache in her arms had stopped for the most part, but that wasn't even something worth taking a breather over.

_A single strike from that sword will shatter my bones._

Alas, before she could actually ready herself this time, the next thing she knew, there was a sudden presence on her left side, and this time, she was extremely unlucky as she was unable to raise a proper defense in time. The sword made a clacking sound as it collided with her shoulder, and for a moment Nel wondered whether someone had thrust a boulder at her. The pain was excruciating, and she even wondered why she was not screaming yet.

That, however, did not mean that she did not make to grasp for her arm for dear life. Tears threatened to spill from the corners of her eyes, and her breathing had suddenly become stunted as she felt the air nearly knocked out of her. She stayed on the ground grabbing at her arm, feeling an unpleasant sound originate from inside that she knew signified the breaking of her bones, and when she turned her head up in her fit of pain, she found the Soul Reaper staring down at her, an icy glare on her visage.

Rier had her sword hoisted half way in mid air, and she was not smiling this time when she addressed Neliel. "See, I wasn't joking. Now the only thing you can do here is give up, or else will make sure the next time this sword hits you it will be through your skull."

The offer was a tantalizing one, and due to the blinding pain in her arm, Neliel was sorely tempted to agree, if only for a moment. It certainly would put a stop to the agony that she was experiencing, and there was always a chance that she could formulate a better plan while in captivity and next time come well prepared knowing what she was going to be going up against. In that moment of self doubt however, a flash of orange crossed her mind, and Neliel widened her eyes a little.

With her one good arm, she managed to hoist herself of the ground and place herself on her knees, such that Rier was currently towering over her. Her breathing had steadied a little, and likewise, a little feeling had restored itself to her shattered left arm. She managed to raise her head up and glance at the Soul Reaper from the corner of her eye, a trickle of sweat on her brow.

"I refuse."

Rier bobbed her head to the side as if trying to catch what the woman was going to say.

"As long…..as he's fighting…I'm not going to give up. That's one thing I learnt from him."

The Shinigami sighed in exasperation, closing her eyes albeit momentarily. "I see. Look here, Missie, I don't know who this 'he' is, but I'm sure about one thing. You can blame him for going where you're about to go next."

She swung her sword down for the final blow.

**Declare, Gamuza.**

There was a short sound of a collision, and Rier's eyes widened slightly. When the smoke from Neliel's **Resurreccion** cleared, and things finally came into focus, she realized that her crystalline sword had been blocked by the green haired girl's weapon. It wasn't the same sword as before, upon closer inspection the Soul Reaper noticed that the weapon was actually a double-sided lance. Likewise, the green haired girl's original form was also gone, and the only thing that remained a shadow of her former appearance was the upper half of her body. The lower half of her body was now reminiscent to that of a centaur, and complete with the black tail from her rear.

Rier smiled. "I see, Resurreccion, huh?"

Nel sighed a little in relief that she was able to release her sword in time, and luckily enough her Resurreccion meant that she was able to recuperate from the wounds that she had suffered prior. True to that, the pain in her left arm was slowly numbing, and it felt way better than the time when it had been struck. Still, there was an odd feeling of sorts from the arm….

"There's one thing I need to tell you. Even if you've entered your Resureccion form, that doesn't necessarily mean that the damage from my sword will be completely healed. You should have already realized it by now, but this is a fight that you have no chance at winning."

**A/N: **Okay so originally this chapter was not supposed to end there, I was intending to complete the fight between Neliel and Rier in this chapter, but I felt that if I did that it would seem awfully rushed, so instead I decided to split the fight into two parts, this chapter ending with Neliel using her Resurreccion, so hopefully the fight ends in the next chapter, plus I can showcase battles on other fronts as well.

Other than that, I'm really sorry for the delay in updating! I hope this chapter will be enjoyed by you guys though, plus brace yourselves as well for the upcoming chapters.

Thanks for reading this far!


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